The New Generation
by white rabbit23
Summary: A new hero. A different adventure. Same old Gaea. Can't say much more than that w/o ruining the story, 'cept r+r!
1. What's happened...

Disclaimer: ok, I don't own the original Visions of Escaflowne… (sniffles)

It is exactly 16 years after Hitomi Kanzaki has returned to Van and become Queen of all Fanelia. Hitomi and Van now have a 15-year-old son named Balin. In this story he is the new hero of the younger generation of those who will fight for the peace of Gaea. He also meets up with old and new characters. Thus including a new heroine, our old friend Yukari's 15-year-old daughter, Samuri. And so our story begins...

* **Author's Notes** *

hey there! I'm putting up a new fic… of the anime Visions of Escaflowne. it's basically about after Hitomi gets back to Gaea (I sorta skipped the part where she actually goes back…). Mostly these next chapters r just drafts… yea, I'm getting to editing them and redoing them, but I'm so busy w/ schoolwork and well, life. So it may take some time before I actually do it all. This series will probably wreck my whole reputation (not that I have one…) b/c it is so horrible as of now, but hey, what's life for if not wrecking one's reputation? (evil laugh heard in the back) well, I hope you like it.

-white rabbit


	2. Prologue: Destiny Awaits: A Normal Life

Disclaimer: don't own the original series, probably never will…

Prologue: Destiny Awaits

A Normal Life

Endless blue sky surrounded her on all sides and she didn't know where she was. The feeling of weightlessness pressed her consciousness and she suddenly realized that she was suspended in mid-air. She was here again. She didn't exactly know where _here_ was, but she'd been there before. And it all felt so familiar.

A floating white object caught her eye and she stared at it. A gust of wind swept her hair and more of the stuff tumbled into her view.

__

Feathers.

There are feathers, floating in the air. 

Her voice echoed strangely here. A dark shadow crossing her line of vision and then suddenly disappearing out of sight again.

She whirled around, refusing to let the shadow avoid her, and saw... Professor Manzuki's squashed face, his usual rotten look plastered on it, leering down at her.

His nasally toned voice spoke, sounding unpleasant, "Miss Amano, the answer, please?"

"What…" Samuri snapped out of her odd vision with a violent jerk into reality. She blinked a couple of times to clear her vision, her wide silver eyes baffled.

Derisive snickers filled the classroom. She was in biology, one of the most boring, tedious subjects in the entire world in her opinion. Her too sympathetic classmates obviously thought that she was trying to be a smart aleck or that she had been spacing out (which was unfortunately true).

"The answer, Miss Amano," repeated Professor Manzuki curtly.

"Uh... ten?" Her frantic gaze flew about the classroom, trying to find an answer or at least a sympathetic face. She found neither. Most of her wonderful classmates were hiding smiles or laughing outright at her complete confusion and loss of words. 

"Incorrect. Class, please inform Miss Amano the correct answer." Professor Manzuki's mouth pursed and distorted itself, as if tasting something extremely sour.

"The fetus," chorused the rest of the class, voices sounding smug.

Samuri flushed bright red with embarrassment and lowered herself into her seat.

"You might have known the answer, Miss Amano, if you had been paying attention to the question, which was?" His right eyebrow flew up, almost disappearing under his receding hairline, as he bent forward to inspect her more closely. She cringed away, trying to cut off eye contact.

"Uh..." She disappeared even lower behind her desk and flushed redder than ever.

"'What is one of the earliest stages an infant is inside the uterus?' was the question, Miss Amano. Of course as the Romans once said: 'Errare humanum est', the error is only human. Pay attention in class next time, Miss Amano." He pulled back from Samuri to her immense relief and turned to the rest of the class to announce their homework for that night.

The bell rang and drowned out even more snickers and some groans from Samuri's classmates. Samuri left quickly, after scribbling down her homework. The load seemed to be more than usual, probably because of Samuri's little nap during class.

"Geez, Sams! How can you just space out like that in class and pass it with like flying colors?!" called a cheerful voice from behind Samuri, high pitched and full of laughter.

"Yeah! I have to study day and night to scrape good enough grades and you don't do a thing and skip by with 'cum laude'!" echoed yet another voice, less perky and more serious.

Samuri glanced behind her and caught sight of her two best friends, Imogen and Kay, running and scrambling to catch up with her.

"Yeah sure. Like you need to study 24/7 to ace Bio, Imi," she replied teasingly, slowing down.

"Well, at least _I_ don't doze in class." Imogen stared pointedly at Samuri. Samuri went pink and shoved Imogen good-naturedly. 

Imogen and Kay were total opposites with different opinions and different views, but always had been and always would be the best of friends. Imogen was a petite brunette with long hair braided in a thick plait down her back with wide, round spectacles framing her face. She had the best grade point average in their entire sophomore class, tied only with Samuri. Kay was a tall blue-eyed blonde with fashionable short hair and a habit of failing every class she took, including home economics. They both detested sports and getting sweaty, which was where Samuri excelled. Samuri, being the black haired, silver eyed, athletic genius that she was, still couldn't quite comprehend how they had become best friends.

"Finally, there's someone else Professor Head picks on! I was starting to think I was the only one he hated." Kay flashed a lopsided grin that only she could pull off just right.

"Hey! Et Tu, Brute!" Samuri feigned hurt, putting on a champ melodramatic tragedy act.

"Yep! And you know you guys shouldn't speak Latin in front of me. It reminds me too much of Professor Head. He quotes Latin like his life depended on it!" she retorted cheerfully, not at all perturbed into guilt.

Samuri rolled her eyes and said with disbelief, "I still don't understand how you got that dumb nickname for Professor Manzuki. He's got the smallest head I've ever seen!" A hint of a laugh twinkled in her mercury-hued eyes.

"My point exactly!" She held out her hands, as if stating the obvious to two children who wouldn't understand otherwise. Both Imogen and Samuri snort, trying to hide their laughter behind very fake 'coughs'.

"And the way he always calls you _Miss Amano_ all the time. It's like he's talking some alien language. He might as well call me Cyborg 21 and Imi ET for all that I understand," continued the blonde airily. At this they were snorting and 'coughing' so hard that they had to stop walking to breathe.

"Stop being such a ditz," said Samuri once she stopped 'coughing' and she started walking again.

"By the way where are we headed now," said Imogen curiously, glancing at her wristwatch.

"To the track, I've got practice, today," replied Samuri, nonchalantly. She ran-in-place for a moment, punching her hands in the air ahead of her, to emphasize her point.

"And you're a great sprinter, too," input Kay sulkily.

"Must come from the genes of my dad," said Samuri, leaning sideways to pinch Kay's nose.

"He's definitely track star material. Look at all those trophies he's won. Also he got that scholarship, for track, to college here. A good thing too, otherwise you'd be in Japan instead of in the U.S. with us," said Imogen factually, grinning at Kay who had an extremely red nose and was crossing her eyes trying to get a good view of it.

"I'd say your dad's definitely a looker. King of all the hunksters, I tell you. Your mom sure is lucky to have such a cute looking husband. What I'd give to be Mrs. Susumu Amano," said Kay, rolling her eyes and sighing dreamily. Although she had abandoned all attempts of looking at her nose, she had begun rubbing it so energetically that it was getting even redder.

"He's about thirty years older than you, and not getting any younger," retorted Samuri, suppressing more laughter at Kay.

"Kay, I don't think the rubbing is helping your nose. And Sam, exactly what time _is _your practice?" said Imogen, practical as ever and glancing at her wristwatch again.

"What?" said Kay cluelessly, still rubbing her nose and once again looking cross-eyed to see her nose.

"Why are you asking, Imi? It's at precisely two o'clock. It's always at _precisely_ two o'clock. Coach is extremely nit-picky 'bout that," answered Samuri absently, as she stuck her tongue out at Kay.

"I'm asking, my innocent, naive Sam, 'cause it's _precisely_ quarter _after_ two," said Imogen, raising an eyebrow querulously.

"_WHAT!_" Samuri cried in alarm, her eyes widening immediately. "Oh no! It's the second time this week that I've been late! Coach is gonna freak! I'd better sprint for it." Samuri started sprinting away from her friends in the then empty hallway, her bag flying behind her, pencils and blank sheets of papers clattering behind in her trail.

"We'll be cheering for you in the bleachers," called Imogen after her disappearing form.

"And yelling at Coach for yelling at you," echoed Kay, now trying to move her eyes which were frozen cross-eyed. Imogen sighed and started helping Kay to unstick her eyes.

*** Author's Note** *

hey all!

This is jst an edit, sorta cut up all the chapters, shortening 'em. So don't pay any attention to my doodlings… :)

-w.r


	3. Prologue: Destiny Awaits: The Crown Prin...

Disclaimer: nope, don't own, probably never will…

Prologue: Destiny Awaits

Crown Prince of Fanelia

He lazily fingered the dark bangs that fell into his face, bored and heaved a sigh. After glancing at the clock tower through the window again, he returned his attention to the large, hand-drawn map in the front of the room. A stiff, formally dressed old man stood there, lolling and droning on and on about geography and history.

The air was light with the coming spring and leaves were budding. Even at the time of day, the sun was still at full force, filling the air with a bright, golden aura. Birds were chirping and making new nests in the trees outside. In the distance he could hear the cheerful bustle of the marketplace. Everyone seemed to be enjoying the wonderful weather. Everyone, with the exception of him.

He frowned and puffed out yet another sigh.

__

Damnation! Why am I still_ here?! I can't stand listening to this tutor's ceaseless droning for another minute… I could be honing my sword techniques like all the other soldiers I know. There is so much I could do with that extra time, but _NOOOOO_ I had to be born a royal prince and listen to this dimwit go on for hours. Even Father did not _have_ to stand for this type of torture. Where are all the wars when you need them? _

Father thinks that it's completely unnecessary for me to become a scholar. Only Mother insists upon it, "The Crown Prince of Fanelia must be educated in its history and its politics." I could learn politics by actually participating in them, but Mother doesn't like the idea of an innocent like me going into the harsh world. Father disagrees, of course, he learned politics by ruling, but when Mother gives Father the mother-knows-best look he backs down. Backs down without a fight! What kind of king of Fanelia backs down to his wife without a fight?! Albeit she is pretty scary when it comes down to her family… But that still shouldn't matter!

And then, whenever I protest Mother gives me that disappointed look and actually agrees with me. Caves in without effort on my part! Then I give in because I feel guilty and assent to this torture. I hate that. It should be illegalized. Guilt is by far the worst weapon of all time.

His frown deepened and riveted his eyes on the large clock tower in the window view.

Well, at least it's almost the end of lessons for today. Ten minutes and ten seconds... nine... eight… _sev-_

"Ahem, Lord Balin?" the tutor's monotonous voice cut through Balin's silent musing.

"Yes, Master Kepler?" Balin stopped counting minutes long enough to turn his attention away from the clock tower and see his tutor halfway through a bow. He then looked beyond him and saw…

"Mother!"

Balin leapt up from his heavy oak study desk and ran over to his mother, almost tackling her in the process. Hitomi was wearing a dress appropriate for her position (heavy, stuffy and stiff), so it was just slightly inconvenient.

"Whoa! Slow down there, kiddo," she says, laughing affectionately, "I'm not running away or anything!"

Balin was already a few inches taller than Hitomi, so she had to lean back to get a good look at him. With his flyaway, untamable ebony-colored hair and reddish eyes he looked like the younger Van that Hitomi had fallen in love with. She sighed contentedly. Balin noticed and tilted his head wondering the reason for the sigh.

"What was that for?"

"Nothing really. I was just noticing how much you look like your father and I thought that I must be getting really old," she said, smiling slowly.

"Heinous! You?! Never old!" he replied gallantly.

He hastily leaned forward and whispered softly in her ear, "Please let me out of here! Lessons are so boring today, I'm dying! I will beg, that in itself shows how desperate I am!"

Hitomi grinned at the fierce despair in his face and turned to the tutor, who had been waiting impatiently to the side for them to stop and allow him to continue his lesson. A haughty expression formed on her smooth pale face, a classic 'queen to peon' attitude.

"I think I shall appropriate my son from here." She paused a moment, "You are dismissed, Kepler," she said arrogantly and walked out the door, arms around her son's shoulders. This stunned the tutor beyond belief, to be snubbed in such a way, and Balin seeing this had to suppress a wild urge to laugh.

"I love it when you do that!" he said after they were out of earshot.

"Don't tell anyone, but I do too," replied Hitomi favoring her son with a fond look. Balin grinned and the resemblance between Van and his son became clearer than ever.

"By the way, what did you come to 'appropriate' me for? Did you want to assist your son in skiving off from royal duties? Accept my innumerable thanks if you did," asked Balin, still grinning with childish delight.

"Well, your father wants to talk to you and couldn't wait, so I had to be a page and get you," she replied smiling as he slipped his arm around his mother's slender waist and strolled beside her down the castle corridor. 

They continued their conversation while walking through several hallways and passages, all too familiar to the both of them. Balin having grown up in these hallways and Hitomi having walked them hand in hand like this with her young son. Balin recognized every stone and rock in the floors and walls with ease. Hitomi thought of the way that Balin had wandered the halls, when he had been younger. Pressing his cheek against the cool stones during the hot summer and laughing as he trailed a stick behind him, drumming it against the walls.

Hitomi broke away from nostalgia and returned herself to the conversation.

"What would he want with me that was so urgent that he would need me now?" asked Balin, more to himself than to his mother.

"I have absolutely no idea. I guess we'll have to find out." They stopped at a large, heavily engraved wooden door and Balin opened it, allowing Hitomi to enter first and following after her. The enormous study was flooded with light, as the curtains were tied back. His father's back was toward them, as he stared out the window, but he turned around when he heard the door click shut. Balin couldn't help but to admire his father's impressive bearing. Van de' Fanel couldn't be less of a king if he wanted to be. Though his clipped beard gave him a devilish look, he was the most honorable of men.

Hitomi ran into his arms and playfully pecked him on the cheek. "Hey, you! Now can you tell me what you want to talk to our son about?" she asked, tilting her head sideways.

Van grinned rakishly and pecked her back on the mouth.

"No."

"Please?" She put on an exaggerated pleading expression.

Balin cleared his throat and although he was used to his parents flirting like this in private, but he wanted to know what it was his father wanted to speak to him about.

"Your father and I forgot all about you, way over there," said Hitomi teasingly, as she pulled out of Van's embrace.

"I must have failed to notice," replied Balin dryly, slightly sarcastic.

"Allow me to apologize ahead of time for interrupting your little argument-to-be, but I have something very important to talk to you two about," said Van, impatiently.

"Please proceed, Father." Balin's face smoothed out into a bland expression, steeling for the worst. But before bad news had time to break out, the loving mother broke in.

"Oh, no. Don't tell me it has something to do with an arranged marriage that you set up again, because if it is I think I'll have to strangle something," warned Hitomi, her fist clenching and unclenching. As Hitomi scowled, growing ever more agitated, Balin went bright pink.

"Hitomi, this is a serious matter," said Van, frowning. He had known that Hitomi would not be happy, but he'd hoped that she wouldn't be difficult about it, therefore simplifying things.

"And I was serious," said Hitomi, dangerously calm, "Serious when I told you to stay _out _of our son's love life."

"Hitomi, we've discussed this subject before and you were well aware that we had to set up some such thing sooner or later," he said his eyes hardening to glittering gems in the light. 

"Yes, we discussed this when Balin was born, but I thought we both agreed that we wouldn't try it unless the situation was incredibly dire and Fanelia was burning at our feet. And if so, why can't this happen later instead of sooner, like when he's a little older and can make the right decisions for himself?" she asked stubbornly.

"It is the duty to the crown and the country. Duty. That is the life of a prince. In particular, a Crown Prince of Fanelia. Even I knew about this obligation to provide an heir to the crown when my brother disappeared. I knew and understood. Of course, back then it was the time of war, though, so I would have to have chosen a bride after defeating the enemy first. Survival was the first priority, of course, but I knew that the time would come to marry sometime." His voice was suddenly regal and stern, the proper voice of a king. Balin had only heard this voice used by his father in the court or when he was issuing royal orders. And though he'd heard it before, it never did cease to amaze him. Even more astounding was that this voice commanded legions of respect from the citizens the kingdom.

Except his wife.

"I understand that! I was there! And if you were in such a hurry, your Majesty, why the hell did you wait for me?" Hitomi demanded her eyes reflecting her hurt. "If it was such a priority, why didn't you marry some other princess of royal blood right after the war?"

"You know why, Hitomi." His ruby eyes softened and he raised a hand to her cheek. "I met you. I knew I loved and, when I could, I married you." Hitomi's blue-green eyes shone with tears.

"Oh, Van…"

Balin, of whom his parents had forgotten completely, sighed and wondered silently to himself, why he of all people had to deal with the foolishness of parents. And when his parents did not give any sign of ceasing the idiocy (or at least _he_ thought so) and romance of the moment, he cleared his throat loudly, destroying it for them.

Van and Hitomi broke apart abruptly; Van looking annoyed and Hitomi surprised. "I apologize for any inconvenience, but if you will continue with the main point, Father?"

"Of course, Balin." She seemed apologetic and Balin nodded, automatically forgiving her. Then, his mother turned to the king, the horrible mother-knows-best look fabricating onto her face. "And Van, I will _not_ let our son get married off to some unknown princess, even with his consent. That idiot is your son through and through and he'd do any dumb thing to save his country, even sacrificing his life to do it."

At those words and that expression, Van immediately backed off the subject. Balin, however, did not and pressed his luck, refusing to accept a life sentence made for him without his input. 

"But a princess of royal blood would never dare hurt me, Mother. What in the world do you mean about sacrificing my life for my country?" Balin raised an eyebrow, being deliberately obtuse.

"You're not old or experienced enough to understand my meaning of sacrifice, Balin dear." Hitomi glared at her husband, as if everything was his fault, and Van glared back.

"Try me," said Balin testily, interrupting their glaring contest.

"Well, I mean that if you were to marry someone you did not love, you would be throwing your life away, and I just can't let you do that. I won't anyone I love do that, as a matter of fact." His mother's look of fierce protectiveness forced a resigned sigh out of Balin. Van frowned and he stroked his chin thoughtfully.

"Hitomi, if you don't like the idea of arranged marriage what are we going to do then? Our allies are becoming nervous because Balin doesn't have some type marriage agreement set. They think that if I die and leave Balin as the king with him without an heir, it will be the Great War situation all over again." He folded his arms across his chest, frowning.

"But he's only fifteen, Van! He's still a boy! And that's ridiculous! You are perfectly healthy. Balin won't need to be king until he's-"

"Fifteen is the pivotal age. He is now considered a true heir and a man. My brother was only fifteen when he set out for the dragon energist in order to be crowned king. I was only fifteen when I became king."

"And if you need to think of it logically, there's always-"

"Ahem."

"Yes?" Both Van and Hitomi turn their heads to look at their son.

"Beg pardon for interrupting, sir, ma'am. But, Father, as much as I appreciate your concern for my welfare, I hardly think that it's necessary. I consider myself perfectly capable of finding someone, who will be my match for life," said Balin, politely rebuking his father's effort for meddling in his life, receiving a resigned expression from Van.

"My point exactly," said Hitomi, smugly.

"And Mother?" Balin continued, turning to Hitomi.

"Yes?"

"You butt out, too."

"What?!"

Van had to stifle a sudden urge to laugh at the look of outrage, indignant, and shock on his wife's face.

"By your leave, Father?" Balin was very calm in spite of the fact that his queen mother looked like a teapot ready to explode. He left the room and as Hitomi was about to follow him, Van caught her arm and turned her so that she was facing him.

"Leave him alone for a little while, Hitomi. I have a feeling he needs a little time to himself," said Van knowingly. Hitomi sighed, but stopped herself from chasing after her son.

* **Author's Note** *

next one…


	4. Prologue: Destiny Awaits: The Crossing o...

Prologue: Destiny Awaits

The Crossing of Paths

On Earth, Samuri had finally finished practice and was meeting up with her friends on the bleachers…

"Hey, guys. I feel like every bone in my body is broken and my muscles are all made of jello now. Do you think that's normal?" queried Samuri tiredly as she limped up the steps to her friends.

"I can't believe that idiot of a coach made you run _fifteen_ extra laps!" exclaimed Kay, looking outraged.

"I know. It _was_ a little extreme," added Imogen, glancing worriedly at Samuri.

"It doesn't really matter, Imi. At least he didn't yell too loud," replied Samuri, she patted Imogen's worried cheek with a listless hand.

"Well, I still think it was mean!" cried Kay, shaking her fists wildly.

"Don't worry, Kays. I think I'll recover by tomorrow, which is a Saturday (Thank God, Almighty!). I'll be in my aunt's house for spring break. My parents are taking a well-deserved vacation to the Bahamas, my brother is going to baseball camp, and my sister will be staying in college for this holiday. (No family! Kudos to me!) So, don't be surprised if you walk by and see my house completely deserted." She sighed contentedly and stretched her tightening neck muscles. "Oh and by the way, did you finish your math homework? I don't get problem number five," Samuri explained to them, turning the subject away from her track practice.

The thread of conversation drifted toward their studies and they barely noticed when they'd reached their streets. Kay and Imogen began walking up to their houses together (they were next-door neighbors as well as best friends) and waved goodbye to Samuri. Samuri started up her street, enjoying a cool wind that arose through the greening trees.

On Gaea, Balin was on the roof practicing drills with his sword, pondering his future and felt the same soft wind. He stopped and looked toward the Mystic Moon, just above the sun's horizon. It was almost sunset and the Mystic Moon seemed almost to glow in the oncoming darkness. For some unknown reason he felt its presence even stronger right then. Balin frowned, but shook it off and went on drilling. 

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a strong gust of wind knocked him off balance. He lost footing and started to drop down to the ground. And before he could open his wings to fly to safety or even to let out a gasp in surprise, a column of white light enveloped him and disappeared.

Balin along with it.

"Noooo! Balin!" screamed Hitomi from a window in the castle, where she had been spying him but it was too late for her to do anything to help her son. Frantically she looked at the Mystic Moon and felt the magnetic pull that it was transmitting. And she knew where the light has taken her beloved son…

~*~*~

It was almost dark on her half of Earth and Samuri was enjoying the colorful sunset. Layers of gold, blue, and pink painted in the sky as the chariot of Apollo began to lower in the sky. The wind rustled the budding leaves on the trees by the road. The overall effect was beautiful.

Samuri stopped abruptly, feeling like there was something that was not quite right. Disturbed, she looked up. A bright beam of light raced down from the heavens, striking and surrounding her. A silhouette against the light appeared, held aloft for a moment in the golden colored sky. Then, it began falling.

Falling... right on top of her. 

A heavy weight slammed into Samuri and she was knocked to the ground. Everything blacked out for a moment, but she blinked a couple times and was able to see what had happened. Or at least what the result was. There was a boy of about her age, maybe a little older, lying on the ground nearby and a medieval-type sword rested by his side, having fallen out of his open hand. He had wild black hair and was wearing a very strange outfit and- hold on! What?! A sword?!

Samuri double took and saw that it _was_ really a genuine sword and when she started to get up, a slight pang alerted her of a small gash on her forearm. Apparently the sword was in the boy's hands when he fell on her and it cut her. Samuri ripped a piece of material from her school uniform and bound up the cut.

She then turned toward this boy who had fallen from the sky. He seemed to be unconscious; Samuri stepped closer and knelt beside him. Random questions started popping into her head. Questions like: 'Where did this boy come from?' 'Is he okay?' 'Why does he have a _sword_?' the type of stuff that books say when weird stuff happens.

Samuri bent closer to the boy to check whether he was all right and suddenly his eyes flew open. The shade was that of blood and they were both beautiful and confused.

He appeared to be disoriented, but in a flash he had rolled away, snatched up the sword and pointed it straight at Samuri. 

__

Uh oh. What have I gotten myself into? 

That was the thought in both of their minds, but they had no idea that it was just the beginning of what lay ahead of them.

* **Author's Notes** *

next!


	5. A Twist of Fate

Disclaimer: don't any of the originals, but the newbies r mine! rock on newbies! :)

Chapter 1

A Twist of Fate

Balin pointed the tip of his sword at the mysterious girl whom he had seen hovering over him when he had awoke, breathing hard. She looked startled at his quick reaction and it reflected in her eyes. There was no fear in those silvery orbs, though.

__

Thank God, she's not afraid. I hate dealing with frightened girls. They always become hysterical and you just cannot understand a word they say. Then they also try to make you feel guilty that way. It's always_ the guilt trick they try. Of course, it isn't exactly chivalrous to aim weapons at women and children, unless they're threatening you. So I guess that I should stop. She seems harmless enough, anyway._

Balin lowered his sword point. Big mistake. With lightning fast reflexes, the girl karate kicked the sword out of Balin's hands. It flew ten feet away, where he wouldn't be able to reach it. 

__

Dammit! She disarmed me! She actually_ disarmed me! Though, I must admit that was a pretty good trick of disarming. Now she's probably going to attempt to hurt me or put up some ridiculous escape from me. Damnation! Why does it always end up seeming the villain?!_

The girl stood up and wiped her strange skirt (it was so short… wasn't there a requirement for the length of skirts somewhere?) off. She looked up at Balin and smiled pleasantly.

"Well, now that you've got the weapon out of your hand, we can talk. My name's Samuri, what's yours?" she said amiably.

Balin, shocked that this strange girl wasn't trying to attack him and could actually speak, was left completely speechless.

"Hel-lo? Do you speak English?" she said slowly, pronouncing every syllable clearly as if he wouldn't understand otherwise.

"What?"

"What…?"

"Oh, forget it. Where am I?" snapped Balin impatiently. He looked around; he appeared to be on a paved road, but unlike any that he'd ever seen on Gaea. It was just different, and he couldn't explain how.

"So you do speak English," she replied, lifting an eyebrow and not answering.

"If I must state the obvious, yes. Now, where, may I ask, am I?" he snapped again.

"I asked you a question first. Answer me and I'll answer you, Oh Rude and Impolite One," she replied, her mouth twisting in immediate dislike as she resorted to name-calling.

"My name is Balin de` Fanel. Now, where am I, Oh Childish one?"

"You are there and I am here. Idiot."

"That is _not _an answer to my question."

"Yes it is."

"But it's not the answer that I wanted!" He stared at the apparently sentient being incredulously, wondering whether or not it was at all capable of intelligent thought.

"I know."

"Then tell me the correct answer to my question."

"No."

"What?! I answered yours!"

"And I answered yours."

"But I didn't get the answer that I wanted."

"So?"

Balin was clenching his hands into fists so that he didn't lose his temper with this annoying girl, called Samuri.

"So, is it possible that by some chance of the Fates that you can give me the answer I would like?"

"I can… but I won't."

More clenching.

"Why not?"

"Because you were rude and… I forgot your question."

He started to snap out at this 'Samuri' again, but stopped and took a deep breath. He then began gritting his teeth.

"Will you _please_ inform me of my whereabouts?"

"Sure, you are in the United States of America. Specifically, Seattle, Washington. Now was asking that, politely, so hard?"

"What do you mean… the 'United States of America'… 'Seattle, Washington'? I recall no such place in all of Fanelia nor Gaea." Balin lifted an eyebrow at the nonsense that Samuri was speaking of.

"What _are_ you going on about?" Samuri's brow furrowed, in confusion.

"Wait a second." Balin looked up at the sky and saw only the moon in the darkening sky. He suddenly realized that...

"I- I'm on the Mystic Moon!"

"What are you _talking_ about? This is planet Earth. Third rock from the sun."

"I can't believe I'm actually here! Father said that it could and would work, but I didn't believe him! He was right, I should have known. And mother! Everyone said that she was from... so the rumors are actually true!" Balin's face cleared, surprise and delight replacing it. Samuri realized that he looked pretty cute when he wasn't scowling or glowering at her.

"Are you okay? Did you get a concussion or something from the fall?"

"Wait a second." Balin heard something that wasn't said and again looked toward the moon. Samuri looked this time too. 

But Balin was not looking at the moon. 

There was a planet coming out from the darkness behind it. Suddenly the bright column of light that Samuri saw appeared again and enveloped Balin. She gasped and jumped back, avoiding the light's grasp. As Samuri lost balance and fell back onto the road, Balin was gone. The light and the mysterious planet disappearing with him.

"What just happened?" she asked herself disbelievingly. "I must've been dreaming or something. I thought this weird guy was here, with a sword. But he's not here and there's no light, or a planet behind the moon, and there's definitely no sword. Ha!"

A glint of light off to the side caught Samuri's eye and she gasped. Gulping inwardly, she ran over to see what it was. On the road rested a gleaming, sharp sword... the exact one she had seen Balin with.

~*~*~

The beam of light appeared in front of them and so did Balin. Tears of joy sprang to her eyes as Hitomi leapt toward her son, her husband not far behind. 

Balin was slightly dazed, not fully realizing what had just happened, but looked up as he heard a shout in front of him. His mother was looking both relieved and worried as she ran into him, clutching him in a tight embrace.

"Don't ever do that to me again! You had me scared to death when I saw you fall off the roof. It's a good thing I still remember how to call the light and make it take you back here. I-"

"Mother, calm down. I'm fine!" shouted Balin, in order to be heard over Hitomi's ceaseless babbling.

"He's right, Hitomi. Smothering him won't help," said Van, who in spite of his words was frowning with worry and hugging Balin's free shoulders.

"I know that, Van. I was just so worried-" She was still holding tight to Balin, as if he were her only lifeline.

"Like you were when you came barging into the council room crying hysterically. And soaking my best shirt with tears," Van cut in, attempting to lure Hitomi off of Balin.

His ploy worked and Hitomi stepped back from Balin to shake an angry finger at her husband. She glared indignantly at Van.

"You were the one who told me to come cry on your shirt!"

Balin cleared his throat loudly. "Mother, Father, I am perfectly fine. Please calm down, both of you. No one attacked me, excepting one minor encounter with a local there. Nothing out of the ordinary at all. Please, let it alone. I am perfectly all right, now."

"What?!!" Hitomi and Van froze, shocked and stopped their rambling to stare at Balin.

"Ye' Gods save me…"

"Repeat that last part again," said Hitomi, eyeing her son suspiciously. And Balin knew that even with all the help of the Fates, he wasn't going to get out of this predicament live and well.

"I didn't mean to... I didn't quite say anything of any importance. I simply stated that I was perfectly all right, which I am."

"You just said that you talked to a Mystic Moonling," said Van, not looking too happy either.

"Well¼ "

"Details, Balin. Details," said Hitomi, pursing her lips, very unhappy.

"Er¼ "

"We haven't all day, Balin," said Van, sounding impatient. And Balin surrendered, sighing.

"I was transported to a road, I think." His voice was resigned, stating the facts. "There was a girl there. She disarmed me and insisted on knowing who I was. I refused to tell her anything more than my name, though. And she was truly annoying in the ten minutes that I talked to her."

"Ah. More details. And where's your sword, now?" said Hitomi, raising her eyebrows.

"Well, I think it was left behind when that light took me back. I apologize."

"That's fine. We're just glad you're back. Now tell us exactly what happened," said Van, rubbing his temple with his forefinger.

"I don't, in truth, remember that much of the light. I just recall losing balance on the roof and falling, then suddenly seeing that bright light. Then, I woke up and saw a pair of eyes just hovering over me. So, I took my sword and aimed it at the girl who was leaning over and staring very rudely at me."

"Oh, Balin," groaned Hitomi.

"What? What did I do now?"

"You shouldn't point your sword at a female, especially one on the Mystic Moon. They get scared easily enough here. On the Mystic Moon, they don't usually have swords hanging around everywhere and one pointing straight at them is not very reassuring."

"Mother, she wasn't the least bit afraid! It didn't seem like it, anyway. She knocked the thing right out of my hand."

"Huh?" Van was seriously surprised at this. Hitomi's eyes widened, then she chuckled.

"Another reason not to do that sort of thing. I think I'm beginning to like this girl."

"_You_ didn't meet her. She repeatedly asked me all types of irritating questions and mocked me. A seriously annoying person, in my opinion," he said, frowning in remembrance.

"Another trait I think I like in her."

"Hey! You're _supposed_ to be on my side!"

"Think again."

"Stop it, you two. Get on with the explanation, Balin."

"Yes, Father. Well, she knocked the sword onto the side of the road. I wouldn't have been able to get it there. After she stopped irritating me and told me where exactly I was, I noticed Gaea appear in the sky and I think Mother brought me back after that."

"So, this girl didn't hurt you, did she?" His eyes narrowed.

"Of course she didn't, Van! Earth isn't a barbaric place!" Hitomi's blue-green eyes widened as she took immediate offense.

"You never know, Hitomi."

"I should! I was born there!"

"So it's really true, then?" Balin interrupted. Both Hitomi's and Van's heads snapped to attention to their son.

"Well¼ Yes. I was born on the Mystic Moon."

"Why didn't you ever tell me of this?"

"Because we didn't think it was necessary."

"Why wasn't it necessary for you to tell your beloved son, whom you adore beyond reason, about your extremely mysterious past?"

"I didn't tell my beloved son, whom I adore beyond reason, about my extremely mysterious past because this son I adore, never asked." She smiled, slightly mimicking and definitely mocking.

"Ah, ha! So, you would have told me if I had asked!"

"Actually no, but you could've, anyway."

"Honestly, you two, are like children. Your mother and I didn't tell you about her past because you would've been in a lot of danger knowing it when you were small and defenseless. There are still people out there who would like to know more about the Mystic Moon and kidnapping a defenseless little prince is a wonderful way to find that out."

"But what about now, when I'm not small and defenseless anymore?"

"Well¼ I don't know. I, personally, forgot all about it."

"Yep. That's where the asking part comes in handy, Balin."

"So, I could have known for sure, instead of believing those strange, uncouth rumors going around about Mother?"

"Ye- what?!" Hitomi was slightly surprised. "I haven't heard any rumors about me? What are you talking about? I can't possibly be _that_ naïve. Are you sure, Balin? You must've misheard or something. I guess that this arranged marriage is getting on your nerves, like it is with me. Hint, hint, Van." Hitomi turned her attention to her husband, immediately shifting her focus on a totally different subject, one not quite as important, in Balin's opinion. The couple, however, was unaware of the growing agitation in Balin's countenance.

"Hitomi, let us not repeat this conversation. I've already informed you that Balin needs to have-"  


"Ye' Gods! Oh, never mind!" interrupted Balin and he stalked out of the room, exasperated and annoyed at his parents wandering focuses. Hitomi sighed and looked at Van, trying to see whether he understood their son at all. He sent her a lopsided grin and she had a feeling he understood Balin just a little better than she did. She rolled her eyes, sighed again and walked toward her husband. She embraced Van and looked out the window, a tear falling down her cheek. Hitomi was immensely sorry to see that her little baby was all grown up, well almost all grown up, into a handsome young man.

~*~*~

Meanwhile on Earth, Samuri has arrived home to find that everyone is out of the house except for her mother¼ 

"Hey, Mom!" greeted Samuri cheerfully, pecking her mother on the cheek and depositing her coat on a hook marked 'Little Samuri'.

"Hello, Sammi-girl. How was school, honey?" returned Yukari, smiling warmly and following her daughter into the kitchen. She picked up a steaming mug of coffee left on the smooth oak counter, leaning against it to watch her active youngest daughter move around the kitchen, still hyped up from her track practice.

"Oh, great. Besides the fact that I totally embarrassed myself in front of my whole Biology class, Professor Manzuki at the core of the problem, as usual. And the fact that I think I'll die of over work and exhaustion. Coach made me run an extra fifteen laps, but I think I'll heal eventually," replied Samuri, searching through the cupboards tirelessly for a snack.

"Ah. I think running is in your blood. Only from your father's side, though. I hated running in high school and I hate it now." She chuckled a little at Samuri's witty words, though. Her daughter finally discovered a bag of potato chips and began to crunch on them.

"Anyway, Mom, all that wasn't the highlight of my day. The weirdest thing happened to me after school. A beam of light came into the middle of the road. And a boy appeared there. He was dressed really oddly and he didn't know where he was. See, I have this cut to prove it. He threatened me at first, but I knocked his sword out of his hand and he calmed down a little. I have it still. He left on another beam of light," said Samuri offhandedly, dropping her school bag on the kitchen floor and wandering into the connected dining room to munch on her snack some more.

Samuri, turned to her mother then, expecting that her stable, practical mother would inform her with laughing eyes that Samuri had been daydreaming again and had just got a nasty cut while not paying attention on the track, even though she would never be able to explain the mysterious sword. However, at these words, the cup of coffee slipped from their casual hold in Yukari's hands. It clattered noisily on the terra cotta, tiled kitchen floor, spilling black liquid and shards of white ceramic across the floor. Her eyes were wide and she seemed to be blinking back tears. 

"Mom! Are you okay? What happened? Sit down, it'll make you feel better," said Samuri, surprised at her mother's stunned reaction. She jumped up from her seat on the couch and led Yukari to the kitchen table to sit. 

But Yukari refused to stay still. Samuri's mother began pacing the floor, nervously. "No, no, I'm fine. It's just… well… you'd better sit down. I have something important to tell you. Something I should have told you a long time ago… It's about my best friend Hitomi. Hitomi Kanzaki." Samuri sat down and looked expectantly at her mother. Yukari sighed and finally sat down beside her.

"I know this might seem silly, but it's really hard to talk about Hitomi. I haven't talked about her to anyone, even your father. At least since she left. She was my best friend from high school. She and I were also rivals for one particular track team star's attention and affection. Do you have any idea who that track star might be?"

"No, not really. Who?"

"Your father."

"No! You're kidding?!"

"Nope. I think he might have liked her more than me initially. Then something strange happened just before he left Japan to come here. Hitomi asked him to give her a kiss if she could run the 100-meter mark in less than thirteen seconds (her record). Not that this was strange, but while she was running she fainted. Both your father and I were very worried about her. That's what probably brought us so close together, our concern for Hitomi. I thought that was pretty ironic at the time, but now (as I'm older) I think it was a very good thing. You know why. After he left he started thinking of me and then… you know the rest."

"Yep. Heard it about a million times. Get on with the story."

"Well, anyway. After that she seemed really changed. Like a revelation had come upon her. She also seemed really sad, like she'd lost someone dear to her heart. At first I thought it was Amano leaving, but one day I walked in on her sighing a name that wasn't Amano's. She explained to me that she had somehow gone to another world and had met someone. The sad part was that she couldn't stay with him and couldn't go back to him. I think she closed him off soon after that. Then, I moved here and married your father. She came to visit soon after your sister was born and she disappeared one day, right in front of my eyes. In a beam of light, just like what you described." A glimmer of sadness was shone in her eyes, but had disappeared after a moment, just like her best friend had. Or so Samuri's mother claimed…

"So you're worried that I'll be carried off to another world and never come back, like this Hitomi girl?" asked Samuri hesitantly and very dubiously. 

"Yes, and it's Aunt Hitomi to you. She was like my sister, not to mention your sister's godmother as well as yours, and you know better than to disrespect family." In a flash Yukari became the family-driven/focused mother that Samuri knew, loved, and adored.

"Er. Yeah. Sure. So what are we going to do now?"

"Well, first I'm going to remind you to clean up that nasty cut you've got. Then I'm going to inform your blood aunt that you won't be going to visit her after all. _Then_, you're going to pack. Hitomi said that she was really without a lot of necessities when she was there. Pack everything you might need on a hiking or camping trip. That might work. Don't forget your toothbrush," added Yukari practically, sweeping over to the pantry to fetch a broom to clean up the coffee mess on the tiled floor.

"Hold on. What do you mean 'pack for a hiking trip'? Where am I going?" Samuri's alarmed silver eyes followed her mother's brisk movements.

"Oh, sorry. I have a feeling that you'll be visiting your aunt. Just not your father's sister," explained Yukari off-handedly.

"So you mean that I'll be going to another planet?" reiterated Samuri disbelievingly.

"Well, I guess you could say that. Just pack, Samuri. Don't argue. Oh, and _do _clean up that cut." Samuri rolled her eyes at her mother's inexplicable logic and walked upstairs to her room, muttering about the insanity of her family. She packed everything she thought that she might need into a black duffel bag, adding the sword after a moment's hesitation and walked back downstairs.

Yukari was waiting outside the house and clutched in her small hand was a small velvet jewelry box. She looked tenderly at her youngest daughter and suddenly broke into a smile. Yukari's red hair was illuminated in the golden twilight and Samuri stopped at her front door to get a good look at her mother, comparing her to her beautiful elder sister, Hikari.

I remember Hikari was like this, even before she went off to college. They're so alike. I was jealous before, of their beauty and how they can share mutual feelings of everything because they're so alike, but now I'm not. I remember thinking that before. How much they were alike. Full of life and love. Beautiful from the inside out. _Both of them._

But Mom's a special case.

I know Hikari will change as she goes through life. She'll go through something that will change her forevermore. Just like all of us do, sometime in our life. But Mom… I'll always remember Mom just like this. She'll stay like this forever. I just know it.

Simultaneously, Yukari was thinking about her youngest daughter, like Samuri was thinking about her.

__

She reminds me so much of Hitomi. I've never really noticed it until now. She's got the perceptiveness, the compassion, and that inner strength that Hitomi had, though she's got a lot more spunk that must come from Amano-san. The innocence that shines like a beacon in her was just like Hitomi. And they both loved to run. It's a twist in fate that, like Hitomi, Samuri must leave me to forever change herself and bring new revelations in unimaginable adventures that I could never dream of. I suppose it takes a special breed to be able to have such an interesting destiny as that. I was never like that. Only Hitomi could possibly be that type of person. Amano-san has known all along I think, but he never mentioned it. He probably thought that it would hurt me, but it doesn't. I loved Hitomi and I love Samuri. Oh, Samuri. If you could only know how much I love you…

"Samuri, I want to give you something. It's very special. It's a family heirloom, belonging to my family for generations. I was never really given it. I am just supposed to hand it down to its rightful owner. It was originally owned by one of my ancestors. She had your eyes and dark hair." She paused and looked away from her daughter for a moment.

"The legend says that her last request was that this necklace be given to a descendant whose temperament matched her own. I have little to no idea whether or not your temperament matches hers, but there has been no one since her, who has her silver eyes. From the day you were born I knew that I would be giving this to you one day. And today is that day. I don't think that you'll need this to remind you of who you are and where you come from, but just keep it." Yukari opened the box and took out a beautiful blue pendant, the shape of a teardrop, hanging on an old, plain silver chain.

"Wow. Thanks, Mom. I'm honored." Samuri was shocked. She walked over to Yukari to look more closely at the pendant. She reached for it and just before she touched the stone she felt a strong force coming from the stone. She grasped it and suddenly a beam of light appeared, racing down from the sky. It enveloped Samuri and she started to rise into the air.

"Mom! Help me! Make it stop!"

"Samuri, hold on!" Yukari reached out for her daughter's hand, grasping it for only a moment and Samuri disappeared. Yukari screamed.

"Samuri, no! Noooo! Don't leave! Please… don't leave…" Her eyes filled with tears and she collapsed onto the ground. Amano, who was just arriving home, had witnessed his youngest child disappear into thin air and had jumped out of his car. He raced toward Yukari and caught her just before she could hit the ground.

"Hitomi, take care of her for me. Please, take good care of her," Yukari whispered to the fading white light and passed out.

~*~*~

A sharp pin poked at her side and she bit back a yelp of pain. The royal tailor grunted, his mouth full of pins, but she understood the gist of what he was trying to say and she quieted her fidgeting. Hitomi was being fitted for a new wardrobe, extremely bored, when suddenly she heard someone's voice.

"Hitomi, take care of her for me. Please take good care of her..."

It sounds like… but it can't be… Yukari? 

A gasp escaped her lips and she jerked away from the fussing dressmaker, towards the window. The Phantom Moon was in her direct sight and it suddenly glowed a brilliant blue for a moment. 

The vision of a girl disappearing in a column of light appeared in front of her and an older version of Yukari collapsing into an older Amano's arms.

Yukari, is it really you? Who do you want me to take care of? Oh, Yukari…

After a moment of staring hard at the Earth, her birthplace, and Hitomi sighed and turned back to the agitated tailor. It was obvious that Yukari wouldn't or couldn't answer and if Hitomi had learned one thing in her life, it was that a question would usually answer itself when the time was right.

Balin was in the forest, behind the palace and at the border Fanelia. He was walking in the forest because it was the second best place of solitude, a place where he could escape princely duties, annoying court ladies (sometimes including his mother), and a place where he could just think. The roof being his first preference, but he knew he wouldn't be able to sneak onto that for a while. His mother wouldn't stand for it, especially if he fell off it for a second time. 

It is not as if I have never used my wings before. She treats me like an infant barely out of the cradle. I would've been just fine, even if that strange light hadn't saved me. Ye' Gods! Mother is becoming paranoid.Balin rolled his eyes and he continued walking. 

I wish that I still had my sword. Then I could practice with it and get my mind off that girl. Hold on! I am not even thinking of that girl. She just knocked my sword out of my hand and no one has ever done that to me before, which is all. Well, no girl anyway. I have never met anyone like her. The entire crowd of court ladies just giggle, titter, flirt and faint. I can't stand them and they don't seem to realize that. They're so completely… airheaded. Why can't they be more like Mother? Strong, sensitive, and perceptive that's what Mother is. They don't even come close to any of these qualities. 

I wonder what that girl is like. Albeit, she was incredibly irritating, but that was probably because I was a little rude to her. All right, maybe very rude to her, but she seemed a lot like… well, a lot like Mother, but in a different sort of way. Not that she looks anything like her. I'm getting myself confused.

Even though, that girl was actually kind of pretty, when she wasn't giving me the evil eye that is, there's really no physical resemblance between Mother and her. And personality wise… Mother is perfectly polite, unlike that girl. Perfectly polite Mother. She always has been, always will be. But there's just something about that girl. Something so similar to Mother…

What am I talking about?! Why do I keep coming back to her? I'm getting so mixed up. I should just stop thinking about her. I'll never be able to see her again anyway. 

But… I still wish I could see her again… 

Balin stepped into a clearing and interrupting the peaceful sounds and darkness of the night, a bright column of light appeared and something dropped right on top of him. He was knocked to the ground, for the second time in the day. He stiffly stood and limped over to the thing that fell on him. It was dark once again, the bright light having disappeared moments ago, but the moon was bright and full, allowing him to see clearly. Balin bent down to get a better look.

He squinted and saw that it was… 

It was Samuri!

* **Author's Notes** *

hey all!

Well, folks, that's 'bout the end of my so-far-edits, but there's more to come and I'm working on makin' things interesting *wink*.

-w.r


	6. The Pendant Reappeared

Disclaimer: don't own it (the Visions of Escaflowne), probably never will

Copyright: but Samuri and all the other new characters that my little imagination has and will create r mine (so ask before u borrow!)

Chapter 2

The Pendant Reappeared

Samuri was slowly regaining the ability to see. She blinked a couple times and a blurry figure bending over her obscured the light of the full moon. She blinked a few more times, so that she could finally see the figure. It was Balin.

"Balin? Nice to see you again. I think."

"Yes. A pleasure to see you again, as well. I think you're a bit confused. I had better deliver you to the palace. Can you walk on your own or do you need assistance?"

"Yeah, I think I can walk by myself." Samuri made an attempt to stand, but instantly became unbalanced and fell back down. "Or not." 

Balin sighed and helped Samuri to stand, muttering about pride while Samuri tried unsuccessfully to reply. They began walking back to the castle, Balin supporting Samuri. She seemed to be extremely disoriented. When they finally reached the palace, Samuri had lost all consciousness and a guard had to assist Balin bring Samuri to a guestroom in the West Wing. Balin then sent the guard to retrieve a healer and to inform his mother and father that they had a guest. When the guard had left, Balin sat down in a chair beside to the bed Samuri lay sleeping and fell asleep himself, watching the peaceful rest of the Mystic Moonling.

The next morning…

Light seeped through the slits at the bottom of her eyelids. 

Samuri blinked. 

More light and she blinked again. 

In the corner of her consciousness she could hear birds singing and fledglings chirping. She blinked a couple more times and regained eyesight. Confused, she took in her surroundings. 

She was sitting on a large four poster bed with the works. A soft white, down blanket engulfed her and a heavy, gold embroidered, red cloth hung from the dark wood posts. The room was large, but not enormous. There was one wide window to her right with the same type of cloth hung on the bed adorning the sides of the window. A small Persian rug lay at the side of the bed and a plain tapestry of birds was covering the wall she faced. Furniture was sparse, but the cherry wood bureau that stood next to the bed was of premium quality.

A cool breeze blowing through the window fluttered the curtains and she could hear the faint sound of birdsong. Everything confused her more so. She couldn't locate her place, which was even more bewildering. Samuri was the only person in her entire family that could navigate on trips. Her father often called her the 'compass', because of it. Once she had discovered that the sun always rose from the east when she was five, she had never had trouble finding her way around anywhere. It was strange that all of a sudden she was befuddled. More than strange, it was scary.

__

Where am I? What happened? I remember that guy, Balin… and Mom giving me that weird pendant… and someone named Hitomi…

Samuri was slowly beginning to remember what had happened and where she was, when a knock on her door disturbed her thoughts. She jumped up in surprise and cleared her throat in order to recover composure. "Come in," she called. The door creaked opened and Balin stepped in.

"A good morn to you. Samuri, I apologize for this disturbance. Mother instructed me to look in on you and see whether you were awake or not yet. When I left before, you still were unconscious." He smiled at Samuri, calmly, casually, as if nothing were wrong and shut the door silently behind him. 

But to Samuri, the world had turned upside down and she started to panic. Which always, in Samuri's case, led to hysteria.

"Why are you acting as if nothing is wrong?! I'm supposedly not even on my planet anymore and this is perfectly normal?! No! It isn't normal! Stop! Just stop and leave me alone!" she said, venting her anger out on a very surprised and baffled Balin.

"Wha-what? What did I do?" asked the bemused Balin and the frustrated girl screamed, exasperated after this comment and buried herself beneath her blankets. Balin looked completely perplexed and quietly walked out, still bewildered. After Balin left Samuri peeked out and watched some birds in a tree by the open window, a miserable look left on her face.

As soon as Balin stepped out of the room he glanced around the hallway and seeing only a couple maids, immediately sprinted down the corridors to his parent's suite, hoping that either Hitomi or Van would be able to make some sense out of Samuri. He opened the door without knocking and walked in on one of his parent's special moments. They were embraced tightly in each other's arms and are just looking at each other. Balin had always been slightly awkward when placed in the middle of one of those situations and decided to just stay out of sight, at least until they were done with their special moment. Unfortunately, however, Hitomi turned her head at the sound of the door's clicking shut and spied Balin standing awkwardly in front of the door. She released Van immediately, to her husband's aversion and hurried over to her uncomfortable son.

"What's wrong? You look like you've just seen a ghost? Is that girl all right?" said Hitomi, her brow furrowed slightly with concern.

"Oh, she appeared perfectly fine. At least while she was screaming her head off at me. I figured that you could help out." A pleading look appeared onto his face. "Please? I'm begging and desperate, I can't deal with distraught girls." Hitomi chuckled.

"Okay, okay."

"Thank you, Mother," breathed Balin, sighing with relief and relaxing slightly.

"You're welcome, Balin," said Hitomi, her amusement reflecting in her voice.

"So that mystery girl from the Phantom Moon _still_ in the guest room at this late hour?" Van walked over to the pair fed up with being excluded from the conversation; his sienna colored eyes curious.

"Yes and she's not a mystery girl, Father," replied Balin patiently as Van wrapped an arm around Hitomi's shoulders.

"If you think as much. Would you like me to accompany you, Hitomi?" Hitomi automatically cuddled closer into her husband's embrace and shook her head.

"I doubt that it's necessary, Van. Right, Balin?"

"Most likely true." 

"And we wouldn't want to detain you from your precious court duties. Kingly duties, I mean."

"Very funny, Hitomi. Then I'll see the both of you later. Please do find time to introduce me to that mystery-I mean-well, you know what I mean." Van exited the room with his wife and son then separated, turning left while the other two started in the opposite direction. Balin paused to acquire a better look of his father.

The sun, filtering through the glass-less windows of the hall, cast a tall shadow for the royal sovereign and illuminated an aura of gold around him. Balin glancing at the enhanced shadow of his father again thought that he looked more monarchical than ever.

"So, Balin, you haven't actually told me who this girl is. Do explain, my dear son." Hitomi begins to stroll down the hall, her heels clicking deliberately on the cool stone floor.

"What? Oh, sorry. Her name is Samuri. She never told me her surname. I wasn't able to obtain any other kind of information about her. Or at least any new information," said Balin, taking a mere stride to catch up to his mother.

"Hmm. Would you mind if I went to talk to her right now?"

"Not at all. That is exactly what I wanted you to do, in any way. She utterly refused to act reasonable with me. I concluded that it was one of those women mystification matters. One of those enigmas in life, at least to mankind. I have no idea about womankind," said Balin, unperturbed. Hitomi cuffed him lightly in the shoulder for the unflattering remark on womankind.

"Just for that I won't see her this morning, I'll wait for this afternoon. You'll have to suffer after all."

"No! Please? I apologize, okay? I'm sorry!" Hitomi laughed at the panic-stricken look on Balin's face.

"All right! All right! I was just joking, calm down. I'll go to see her, right away. Happy?" she asked, turning and walking into the guest corridor, leaving Balin to roll his eyes at his mother's idiosyncratic sense of humor. He walked away, heading toward the council room where matters actually made sense.

"Don't worry, Balin. I've been married to her for over sixteen years and I still haven't figured out what goes on in her head," was the reply the king gave to his son, when queried about Hitomi's behavior.

~*~*~

At that moment, Samuri was leaning out the window looking at various, native birds in a tree, by her window. A slender hand tapped her on the shoulder, catching her by surprise. She jerked away instinctively and teetered on the windowsill, completely off balance. The owner of the hand quickly snatched her arm and yanked her back up to the window, just before disaster hit.

Once Samuri regained balance she turned to see who had interrupted her bird watching, yet saving her from an accident. A middle-aged woman with long, sandy blonde hair and beautiful green-blue eyes stared back at her. The stately woman smiled warmly and waited for Samuri to evaluate her. Samuri quickly looked the woman up and down.

She wore the strangest clothes. Quite formal compared to Samuri's school uniform. A blue gown of complementation with the woman's fair hair and pale eyes, with a fairly long train, no frills or bows, and slightly medieval flair. Bunched sleeves and a bodice that hugged the woman's slender figure up to her waist and then the material smoothly flared off, gathering graciously at the woman's feet. And though the woman could only be described as very pretty, her manner and the way she held herself made her more beautiful than even Samuri's mother, whose fragile beauty Samuri's older sister had inherited. 

Samuri's older sister, Hikari, was and always had been the belle of the family. On the list of Samuri's wondrous sister's accomplishments were Senior Prom Queen, homecoming queen, yearbook editor, track-team star, and so on. But Hikari had earned a scholarship to NYU in her art accomplishments and love for art, nothing else.

In her mind's eye, Samuri could remember many times when she had been younger and had stumbled into Hikari's private art studio, a converted outside garage, during the past hot summers of long ago. She could remember the soft sunlight, fairly glowing around her sister's beautiful vibrant, lush auburn hair and the almost translucent texture of the pale skin on her face. The sharply pointed chin, a feature softened in Samuri, tilted at an angle in a pensive place. Faithful, long-handled paintbrush tucked behind her left ear and paint smudging her otherwise flawless cheek. Hikari could have easily had a track scholarship to any college in the country, but she had chosen art over her talent of scorching the track. To have that type of passion for something was frightening…

Samuri mentally shook herself and brought herself up to date. This woman was standing calmly in front of her. Completely calm. And not talking at all. Samuri, uncomfortable, decided to initiate a conversation.

"Uh, thanks for pulling me back."

"And sorry for scaring you. What were you looking at?"

"The birds, I guess."

__

Who is this woman? What does she want with me? She looks familiar, like I've seen her somewhere before. I wish I could ask her, but that would be rude.

"Yes, they are very nice here. Very different from Earth, eh?"

"Yes, they're really pretty-" It took a moment for how the woman had phrased her question to sink in. "But, wait, how did you know I came from Earth?" Samuri asked, baffled. Balin had called Earth the 'Mystic Moon', so how did this woman know that Samuri called it 'Earth'?

"Let's just say I've got a first hand experience."

"Okay, I guess I can take that answer. At least for now. I'm assuming that I'm not on Earth anymore. So… exactly where am I?"

"Well, you're in the kingdom of Fanelia located on the planet of Gaea. Fanelia is currently under the rule of her king, Van Slanzar de' Fanel."

"Oh, okay. How, exactly, did I get here, then?" she asked hesitantly.

"I have no real idea how you got here. And you're not saying what's really on your mind. You want to know who I am and why I'm here," she said, staring into Samuri's eyes. As if Samuri's eyes showed her everything she needed to know without uttering a word. As if Samuri's secrets unfolded in her eyes to this woman.

"Well, yes. But it would have been rude to ask what I'm thinking. Well, I guess I can say this one thing that I'm thinking. I'm looking for someone here. If you could tell me where she is that would help a lot. I think she can tell me what's going on," said Samuri frankly, keeping eye contact. The woman looked interested.

"What's this person's name? Maybe I can help you out. I know a lot of people here."

"It's Hitomi. Hitomi Kanzaki." The woman's eyes widened and her tone sharpened.

"Who told you that name?"

"Why? What's so important?" Samuri returned, suspicious.

The woman immediately relaxed her voice, as if on reflex from Samuri's suspicious attitude. "Oh, no reason, really. I just happen to… know her, very well."

At the key words of some type of relationship between the woman and her 'aunt', Samuri loosened up. "Oh, okay. I got it from my mom, if you really want to know. Can you tell me where I can find her? I have to go there right away. I really don't want to be anymore of a bother to you people anymore. I'll be able to find my way around, I'm sure. By the way, the name's Samuri." A genuine smile curved her lips.

"Nice to meet you, Samuri." The woman nodded cordially in reply, but avoided giving her name even though it was obvious that Samuri wanted to know it. "Yes, I can tell you where you can find her. Who's your mom? Not a lot of people know about this place." Samuri became suspicious again at her words.

"What's it to you? I don't even know who you are or what you're here for." The woman smiled. It was a nice smile and Samuri couldn't detect anything false or malicious in it.

"I was sent here by Balin. He was concerned about your health and decided that I would understand you best." Immediately, relief shone like a lighthouse light on Samuri's face.

"Oh, well then. If you're from Balin, then I guess you're all right."

The woman raised a slender eyebrow. "You seem to trust him a lot."

"I do, don't I? I can't help it I guess."

"Ah. That's natural. Everyone can't help trusting Balin." A fond look twinkled the woman's eyes. A bird's abrupt flight into the room, interrupted the woman from continuing on. In the bird's beak, it held a glittering, silver necklace. Shocked, Samuri saw that the necklace was the pendant that her mother was trying to give to her, before she had been taken up by that light. 

The pendant caught the sunlight and in that moment time seemed to freeze. The stone on the necklace became illuminated, glowing a bright blue stream of light around it into the air. The aura of the pendant caught the eyes of Samuri and held them. She couldn't seem to take her eyes off of the glowing stone, even if she wanted to. It was almost hypnotizing, how the golden sunlight could transform a seemingly lifeless piece of rock into a vital, sparkling jewel of the air.

Both the anonymous woman and Samuri reached for it at the same time, brushing it with a finger simultaneously. Suddenly, everything was in total darkness, though the aura of the pendant was still there. Except it was brighter now, strengthened from the loss of everything else. Bright as the sun, shining through the darkness. Samuri could still feel it, her finger frozen in midair as she came into contact with the pendant. The soothing coolness that she felt emanating from it was still there. But everything else was gone, pitch black. And she was frozen where she was, her eyes locked on the glowing pendant.

In the back of her mind, she felt a gnawing sensation. Like something in her subconsciousness was struggling to break free. She suddenly knew that she had unconsciously fought it off all the time, for her whole life. Everyday, just before she woke up, just before her alarm clock shook her from her dreams, she battled that feeling. Samuri wasn't sure why she did. All she was sure of was that if she let go and let that something break free, all hell would break lose. She didn't know how she knew it, she just did. 

Fortunately enough, she always won those battles, but at times when she least expected it, something unexplainable would happen. 

Visions or daydreams or forgotten memories. She didn't know what to call them. She had had one just the day before, during biology when she had been bored and inattentive. But that was only the most recent. It had happened many times before. When she ran races, right before the finish line, she would see flashes of moments long ago. Like glimpses of Aztec cities, high in the mountains, at their prime. With gold gilding on the high stone buildings. And the blood sacrifices made for the Gods they believed in. Yet, sometimes she couldn't explain or identify those visions. They didn't make sense. But she knew that whatever she saw, it was caused by that sensation that she withheld. 

Somehow she knew that visions were only the tip of the iceberg. If she let go and ceased fighting, she could do much more. But she didn't want to… They were dangerous things and she knew that if she touched fire she would indeed be burned. Samuri stayed away from the feeling and most times forgot about it.

Now, however… now that she was in the right place, she let go completely. She cut the cord of defiance to the last strand. And that feeling, that power, overwhelmed her. The blood rushed to her head and the sound that she heard in her ears was similar to the sound that the waves make when they crash upon cliffs during a spring storm. The impact that the sensation made against her when she finally released her defenses almost blinded her. The years of holding out against it snapped back at her, stronger. It made her head pound to the beating of her heart and she stopped breathing.

Everything went dark for awhile…

All she could hear was the beating of her heart and the sound of her own breath. Those too, seemed to be fading slowly. As if the darkness was choking her. Strangling the life out of her. And she couldn't fight it. She couldn't force herself to breathe. The evil force was everywhere, surrounding her, and she wasn't strong enough to defeat it. So, she gave up. Slowly, slowly she lost feeling in her limbs and she knew that she was going to die.

Suddenly, blue light blasted through the darkness, sweeping away it all away, leaving only the light. Samuri was now someplace that looked like the sky. In that moment the torment and suffering was over. It had seemed like an eternity, surviving it, yet she had. She could breathe freely again. She could look away. Blinking, she checked her surroundings. Now, there were feathers floating in the air, like in her most recent vision.

Samuri gasped in surprise and heard someone close by gasp too. She turned to see the woman next to her. They both seemed to be floating along with the feathers, moving freely though, while the feathers drifted around them in the air. For a brief moment, woman's eyes met Samuri's. They were as beautiful as ever, the color of leaves on water, but bemused. And then, they both jerked abruptly from a halt and started falling into an ominous, looming emptiness below.

Falling fast.

Samuri's eyes widened as she felt a sudden burst of unexpected pain in between her shoulder blades. A small shriek of surprise fell from her lips and her shoulders writhed in pain for a moment. Then, she ceased falling, like a bird learning to fly for its first time. The dark silhouette of a dragon appeared, blocking all light from the sky again. The whisper of the wind echoed in her ear, but she couldn't make out anything that the wind said. 

Samuri felt someone shaking her and she opened her eyes. Balin's shadow had been the one who had blocked the light of her dream. But now she was back in the room, Balin shading her from the bright sunlight of her window, and shaking her awake, his reddish eyes full of worry.

"Are you all right, Samuri?" Samuri blinked again and nodded. She glanced toward the woman, who was lying on the floor next to the bed and she sat up abruptly. A dashingly handsome older man knelt beside the woman and shook her awake. The man looked strangely familiar. His nose and the texture and coloring of his hair were familiar.

"Who's that?" Balin followed the direction of Samuri's gaze.

"Oh, that's my father." He called to the man, "Is she all right, Father? Samuri seems to be fine." The man glanced up and Samuri saw Balin's ruby eyes on the man's face.

"She's fine, Balin. What the devil happened? Why were they knocked out?" Balin glanced at Samuri.

"I don't know. Why don't we ask them?"

"Hey, if you talk about me in front of me, at least direct the conversation to me," the woman muttered, seemingly fine enough to complain to the man.

"What's going on?" Samuri asked, desperately confused, "Do you all know each other?"

"It's all right, Samuri. This is my mother and father. Mother, Father this is Samuri."

"Hello." Balin's father smiled kindly.

"Hi, again." Balin's mother sat up and also smiled.

"Why didn't you tell me you were Balin's mother?" Samuri directed at the fair-haired woman and could see some faint resemblance between the mother and son.

"Because you didn't ask. I'm very sorry about that, though. Also before I forget, my name's Hitomi. Hitomi de' Fanel, formerly Hitomi Kanzaki." Samuri's eyes widened.

"And I am Van de' Fanel, her husband," added the handsome man, whom Samuri could now identify as Balin's father. Her eyes widened even more.

"Why didn't you tell me you were a prince?" blurted Samuri staring at Balin's parents so that she didn't notice Balin blushing profusely beside her.

"Well, you-you did not ask."

"So?"

"It was fairly unimportant, anyway." Samuri turned and glared at Balin. He immediately stopped blushing and glared back challengingly. Hitomi smoothly interrupted them, standing from her place on the floor to sit on the other side of Samuri on the bedspread.

"It wasn't his fault, Samuri. Don't worry about it. And you never told me who your mother was. I only told a few people about this place. And you definitely aren't one of them… Do you know a woman named Yukari Amano? Or a man named Susumu Amano. Or even any of my family, the Kanzaki's?" Hitomi's hesitance in these words was clear and Samuri lifted an eyebrow.

"My mother _is _Yukari Amano."

The words hung in the air, as if time were at a stand still and everyone's eyes widened in shock.

"She said that you were like a sister to her." She focused her gaze on Hitomi, who was looking away, pensive. "She also said you tried to steal my father away from her." Her face twisted into a light-hearted smirk. Startled, Hitomi looked up and grinned.

"Well, I didn't try too hard. If I had, you and Balin wouldn't be here. It's a good thing that I met this guy." She jabbed her forefinger into Van's shoulder and he smiled.

"Balin, I think that they're perfectly fine now. We should leave these chickens to cluck and gossip." Hitomi jabbed him in the ribs.

"We are _not_ chickens."

"Of course not, mother hen." She jabbed him again in the ribs, harder this time, and this time he winced.

"Ouch! That stung!"

"That's the point."

Samuri sighed and rolled her eyes, leaning toward Balin to whisper a question. "Are they always like this?"

"Unfortunately. It's something they do to me all the time. I'm quite used to it by now," he whispered back, making a suffering face.

"Okay, just making sure." Then, Samuri and Balin sat back, waiting expectantly for the couple to cease their marital flirting. Samuri cleared her throat and Hitomi focused once again on the matter at hand.

"Oh, pardon me. I have a bad habit of trailing off the subject. Where were we again?"

"You were about to boot Father and me out," Balin answered for Samuri and she stuck her tongue out at him.

"Oh, yeah. Go on. I need to talk to Samuri. Alone." After heaving a resigned sigh, Van obediently stood and walked to the door, Balin at his heels. At the door, before exiting the room, Van turned to his wife again.

"If you need anything, just call. I don't want either of you to pass out again. It was a good thing we were just on our way, otherwise you two might have been hurt."

"We'll be fine, Van. Shoo." Hitomi made a shooing motion to Van and Balin. Van turned and left with Balin.

"Well, what did you want to talk to me about?"

"I just wanted to ask you a few questions."

"About my mother?"

"Yes, about Yukari, but also about… well, did you have a strange vision just now?"

"What do you mean, 'strange vision'?"

"Right before Van and Balin woke us up. How did we become unconscious, by the way? It hasn't happened to me since… well, it hasn't happened to me for a long time."

"I don't know why we got knocked out. I thought that you would know. It's happened to you before?"

"Yeah. Unfortunately, it has. It usually occurs after I get a vision like that. It didn't start happening to me until I came here, back when I was about your age." Hitomi paused hesitantly before continuing.

"Actually I had a vision about Van and coming here before that. It came true and I had a whole bunch of them during the Great War. It turned out that I was wishing for them and it came true. I don't know why or how I have this ability. I just do. I was able to keep it at bay until now."

"Oh," she frowned for a moment, then went on, "I'm sorry, but what did you mean by the 'Great War'?" Samuri blushed at her ignorance. Hitomi slapped her forehead with her right hand.

"I forgot! I haven't talked to an Earthling for such a long time; it just slipped my mind. The Great War was back when I just met Van. All the people here know about it." She smiled apologetically.

"See, there used to be a country called Zaibach. This country was ruled by a very jealous king. He was powerful and decided to use that power to attack Fanelia. He totally annihilated it. This occurred just after Van's coronation. It was horrible. Van and I disappeared right before the Zaibach army burned Fanelia to the ground, so I didn't see everything that happened."

Samuri was apparently shocked, but intrigued. "What do you mean 'disappeared'? You met the King during a war? How'd you fall in love during a _war_?"

"Whoa. Slow down a little. I can only answer one question at a time." She smiled kindly, remembering her conversation with Balin and how he always asked too many questions at once with her. Balin was, for some reason, shy and awkward with court women, but not with her. Although, she was his mother, it was rather odd. Normally, if a boy got along with his mother he got along well with women.

It wasn't so with Balin.

Balin portrayed a shy, hesitant prince that was altogether too proper. He avoided women as much as he could. He only showed his true colors and personality with Hitomi and sometimes Van. Hitomi could see that through the façade of a bland scholar, who had no feeling for life, her son was truly a brave young man with a passion for adventure like all the other men. Balin, she knew, suppressed a lot of feeling for life, thinking that a prince of Fanelia should be stuck in a classroom learning things all day.

And even though he felt this, she knew that he longed to be outside with all the other young folk. She'd seen him in his classroom. He'd sat at his desk, copying notes correctly and seemingly a perfect student, but she'd seen that his attention wasn't there. His focus was absent. He had been gazing out the window and she knew that he did not want to be there.

Hitomi gave way to an inward sigh. Her son was simply not happy where he was. She had to get him away somehow. True, she didn't want him to miss out on his studies, but he was not himself when following her guidance. She decided that she had to get him out on an adventure. It would help.

A pleasant and not entirely unfamiliar voice broke into her thoughts and Hitomi turned to the present.

"Oh, I'm sorry. It's just… well, I'm curious. I didn't mean to be rude," apologized Samuri, embarrassed only slightly, with an interested glint in her silver eyes.

"That's quite all right. Didn't Yukari explain this, when she told you?" Hitomi shook herself mentally, ordering herself to pay attention.

"Not really. She said that you'd met someone, whom I'm assuming is the King, and fell in love. Then, Mom said that you left and couldn't go back. At least for a little while, then you disappeared again and she never saw you after that. That's about it. Sometimes Mom has a lack of imagination."

A twinkle developed in her eyes as Hitomi realized how much Yukari's daughter was like her. "That's all right. I'll answer your questions first, then spill out the whole dreadful story."

"Go right on ahead. I love romantic fairy tales and I have a feeling this is a good one with a very happy ending." She settled back, ready for a long story.

"Well, that light that you saw, and I'm assuming that you saw the beam of light that brought my son to Earth for a short period of time, that light brought me to Gaea when I was running on the track. I was racing for a kiss from your father, I think, and Van appeared. I'd seen a vision of him before that, during a track meet, and recognized him. I saved him from the dragon that he'd been fighting by warning him of an unexpected attack. Then, somehow I got stuck in that light and came back with him.

I met Van just before the Great War began. I don't exactly know when I fell in love with him. At the time I didn't even know I was in love with him. I thought I was in love with someone else."

"Really, Aunt Hitomi? Who was that? Was he handsome and dashing? A real knight in shining armor?" she asked eagerly, obviously dying for a good romance.

"Dashing and handsome, Allen? At the time I thought he was. And he was certainly a knight, but not _my_ knight. Van has been and always will be my knight in shining armor." She stared out the window at two lovebirds nestled in the nearby tree. Her eyes sparkled tenderly and Samuri watched her, wondering.

"You really do love him, don't you? I can tell," she said, in all seriousness. The question was more of a statement and Hitomi stared at her. The girl had to be credited for a lot. She was really very perceptive and in such a familiar way…

__

Almost like me. That's what it is. She's so much like me. But she's got a lot of Yukari there too. I can see it. She doesn't look particularly like anyone in Yukari's family. Or anyone in Amano's family. That's odd, but she looks so familiar. Who could mistake those eyes? _She's different too. There's definitely something different about her. I can't quite place it though._

"I do, Samuri. I love him a lot. I suppose you'll meet the knight that tried to steal my heart. He'll be coming to Fanelia soon, so I needn't explain. Anyway, this is how the story goes…"

The queen explained about the burning of a nearby country called Asturia by the country called Zaibach. About the horrible war that Zaibach caused. About the king's brother and his death. She even explained about how she saved Van and how he saved her time after time (although Hitomi mindfully left out the time Van had saved her using his wings). There was one detail that fascinated Samuri beyond belief. The guymelef, a sort of battle suit, called Escaflowne. Hitomi confided that no one beyond a chosen few actually knew that Escaflowne really did exist. Mostly everyone believed that the ancient guymelef was just a myth or legend. She even explained about how she and Van were related to the myth of Atlantis (again omitting the fact that Van had wings).

Hitomi felt an obligation to her best friend's daughter to tell her everything. Everything except Van and Balin's wings, of course. She had told Yukari, but that was different. Yukari would never have told, not that she could. She didn't know whether Samuri was trustworthy for that secret, though she had a feeling that Samuri wouldn't tell either. She had promised Van the day that Balin was born that she would never reveal to anyone that particular secret to anyone. Even to an Earthling. Hitomi felt the slightest guilty, but brushed it aside and continued the story of her past.

* **Author's Notes** *

hey guys!

Sorry it's been SOOOOO long since my last chapter, but I have good excuses… I jst misplaced them somewhere… J well, this chapter was originally about 36 pages, so I decided that it was taking me too long so I cut it in half and here's the first half! Anyways, what do u think of everyone so far? I thought that it was a pretty good chapter, but hey that's jst me. I'm developing my characters pretty well so far, but what do u think? Sure, Sam's pretty shallow at some pts, but rn't all teenage girls? I know I am at some low pts of my life *grins sheepishly*. And who could ever imagine that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree (Balin's so adorably afraid of girls)? Tell me what U think! Any questions or comments feel free to email me at hesiod23@hotmail.com OR u could jst review this… hehehe

-w.r


	7. Domino Effect

Disclaimer: don't own any of the original Visions of Escaflowne characters (i.e. Merle, Van, Hitomi, Allen, etc.) but Samuri, etc. are mine, so pls don't steal 'em. I'd hafta hunt u down and I have way too much hw for that.

Warning: minor cussing, thus PG13 rating

Chapter 3

Domino Effect

"What the hell does _that _mean?!" Van's shout could be heard echoing in the outside corridor, making people walking by stop what they were doing in surprise.

"Please, quiet down Father," said Balin, trying to placate his father, although he too was troubled.

"We deserve an explanation, Balin. No one has any right to exclude us from that type of decision." Although his eyes were still flaring, his voice had quieted down.

"I agree with you, Father. Please do explain, Sir Allen." Distress was plain in the boy's voice and the knight Ambassador frowned slightly.

"Allen does as he pleases, Lord Van. It _is_ his choice," echoed a feminine voice from the corner of the room.

"Merle, you stay out of it. Allen has absolutely no right to decide to wander off on some silly mission, that could end up killing him, without any notice and, or authorization!" The king didn't even turn his head to the feline woman sitting in the corner of the room. His eyes focused on the man sitting next to him. With his long golden hair the color of bright sunshine and deep blue eyes he had a shocking natural beauty.

The cat woman brushed back a strand of her long pale pink hair disapprovingly and opened her mouth to give a snappy retort, but Balin caught her eye and vigorously shook his head. This was something between his father and Allen; there could be no interference from her. She shut her mouth reluctantly and pursed her lips, knitting her brow together.

"Majesty, this isn't just a 'silly mission'! It is vital to the future of Fanelia! Which I might remind you is _your_ responsibility and _your_ kingdom, none of which is mine!" Allen's blue eyes flashed, but he maintained his temper, somewhat.

"Allen, you are becoming paranoid! There is no basis to think that anyone or anything will be trying to attack Fanelia in the near future. I know that Fanelia is my kingdom and my responsibility. And I know that you care for it just as much as I do." His dark vienna-hued eyes softened in acknowledging the fact.

"But I _won't_ stand for having a friend of mine go on some suicide mission for _my_ country without any real basis." His jaw tightened stubbornly, his eyes smoldering again.

Allen frowned. "Balin, Merle, please leave so that I can talk to the King alone," he said, not bothering to spare a look at them. Merle was about the open her mouth again, but Balin elbowed her sharply in the ribs and pushed her out of the room. The door shut with a deliberate click behind them. Merle whirled around and glared at the young prince.

"Balin, what in Heaven's name did you do that for?!"

"Merle, you know how Father is. He really wouldn't have liked it if you had insisted on remaining. And do not dare deny that you were going to insist on tarrying. I know you too well for that." His flame red eyes so like Van's were grave and Merle groaned in frustration. A gust of a sigh blew through her pink lips and she shoved an arm through his, still fuming. They started to make their way down the corridor, basking in the warm sunlight.

"I know, I know. But I still can't believe the gall of Lord Van!" Balin couldn't resist a smile and decided to change the subject before his companion could scratch his eyes out, literally.

"Have I informed you about the events of yesterday?"

"No. What happened yesterday? I haven't even seen your mother and I just arrived an hour ago. She's usually right there to greet me. There just has to be something very important going on." Balin nodded in agreement, but didn't elaborate upon her statements further, pausing lengthily before continuing.

"So, you didn't hear about Samuri? I suppose I will have to explain, then." He sighed resignedly.

"Who's Samuri? What a strange name." She arched a fine pink eyebrow.

"It is quite similar to Mother's, I think. And her origin is exactly the same." It took a moment for what he said to sink into Merle's brain.

"You can't mean that she came from the Mystic Moon?!" Shock was clearly written upon her face.

"So, you did know Mother came from there?" Balin looked at her sharply, only feeling slightly betrayed.

"Well, yes. Don't you?" She stared guiltily downward before looking at him again, knowing the answer.

"I do now." His face was impassive; showing no emotion and it made his honorary godmother wonder just what had happened in her absence. Usually, she could read him like a book, but not today.

"What were you saying before, Balin?" Merle began the flow of conversation after the long pause.

"I was going to tell you about Samuri," Balin replied, returning to his normal self, to Merle's silent relief.

"Oh, yes. Who is this girl, I'm assuming she is a girl?" She smiled, lightening the mood considerably.

"Yes, she's a girl, I think. I was practicing on the roof and I slipped off." Merle groaned and he had to grin. The light caught the mischievous quirk in the curve and Merle noticed a strong resemblance between father and son.

"I can't believe how much you are like your father. And Hitomi actually lets you do it."

"Yes, well under protest, but still she gives me permission. As I was saying, I slipped off the roof and- I suppose you know about how my mother arrived on Gaea." Balin glanced pointedly at the cat woman.

"Of course. Hitomi explained everything back then. She was altogether too talkative, in my opinion."

"I assumed as much. Did she tell you about that strange light? The one that brought her here to Gaea."

"Are you saying that this girl, Samuri, was brought by that light?"

"Yes. It would be better if she, herself, explained everything to you. Here's her room." He stopped before a door in the bright hallway.

"Figures that you would lead me here and not tell me a thing. And we bards are supposed to collect information from all around the Four Corners of the known world. I must be losing my touch." She sniffed indignantly and knocked on the door. Hitomi's voice reverberated through the thick heavy wooden door. "Come in." Balin opened the door for his aunt and then let himself in. He felt his jaw slacken at the site that beheld him.

Samuri's eyes widened a fraction when she saw the feline-like woman enter the room. The fact that the woman had pink hair shocked her even more so, but no surprise other than the widening of eyes registered on her face. Her Aunt Hitomi seemed to be perfectly at ease with this strange occurrence, so she simply accepted it. No point in making such a big deal, she told herself.

Balin's jaw dropped at the fact that Samuri was sitting on the floor, hip to hip with his mother, as if they had been best friends forever. This girl confused him more and more the longer he knew her.

Hitomi smiled and stood to greet her longtime friend. Merle automatically returned the warm embrace that received from the Queen of Fanelia. They had both competed for one man's affections and even though Hitomi had won in the end, they were still very friendly. Hitomi had even felt it just to make Merle the godmother of her son at his birth. This had been a break of tradition, in sorts and had brought the two rivals even closer together. Even further, they had dubbed her the official Bard of Court, by way of her birthright, giving her way to travel anywhere at anytime to collect information for the country.

Beast people were not usually treated with such respect as Van and Hitomi had given her and though Merle resented this in a way, she also appreciated it. Very few people accepted her as an equal in Fanelia. She had loved Van in the way that a woman could love a man, but that was gone now. Merle accepted his love for Hitomi a long time ago and moved on. She could love Hitomi after accepting it, something she had wanted to do for a long time. She would still love Van, in a sisterly way, but she'd moved on and fell in love with another…

"So, what is with all the commotion?" Merle pulled back, out of the friendly hug and flipped her hair over her back. Hitomi leaned back and smiled, thinking a secret.

"Nothing much. I'd like you to meet my best friend's daughter, Samuri." She beckoned Samuri forward. Samuri stood shyly, avoiding eye contact with anyone, and took a step towards Merle.

"Um… It's nice to meet you." Samuri finally chanced a glance up at Merle's face. Merle's slender eyebrows rose in a look of slight surprise and quick calculation. 

__

Those are definitely interesting eyes. I don't think I've ever seen that color before. Silver. Hmm…

"It is certainly nice to meet another girl from the Mystic Moon." This remark was made with absolute passiveness from Merle. It was almost a test of sorts, this assessment of hers. Samuri knew it and became slightly flustered, more than her normal calm self.

"Uh, yes. I suppose so…" She trailed off, but didn't look away from Merle's eyes in submission. This seemingly insignificant action gained vast approval from Merle. She smiled a smug smile and held out her hand to Samuri in acceptance. Samuri took it.

"Samuri, this is my godmother, Merle. Merle, this is Samuri." Balin lost his shocked look and remembered his manners.

"Well, was there a purpose for this little intrusion? I was catching up on some lost details and explaining some important things," said Hitomi, all business.

"Not quite, Hitomi. Balin said that he would like me to meet his new friend."

"I don't consider Balin as a friend, Lady Merle." Samuri managed to keep a straight face at the look of outrage on Balin's face, but her eyes twinkled mischievously.

"Then what do you consider me?!" demanded Balin, obviously taking Samuri seriously, became angry.

"A mere nuisance." Samuri's silver eyes widened in absolute innocence.

"A- a what?!" he stuttered incredulously, taken aback by the Earth girl's insolence.

"A nuisance that doesn't go away. Happy, now?" Samuri pretended annoyance.

"I am NOT a-"

"Ahem. I think I'd better interrupt this little love fest, before it breaks out into another war. I'm not sure I would be able to say that Fanelia would come out so triumphant this time." Merle's eyes sparkled with suppressed laughter at Hitomi's light teasing remark. Both Balin and Samuri glared at Hitomi for a moment. Samuri was the first to actually crack a smile.

"You know Hitomi, they almost sound like you and Van. Especially when you two were younger." Both Hitomi and Merle chuckled at the cat woman's remark.

"Huh?" Samuri thoughtfully lifted an eyebrow, not quite understanding.

"Merle, you must be jesting. I have never acted as childish as Mother and Father." Hitomi feigned offense at her son's implication.

"Disrespect that I get from the younger generation, these days. Tsk, tsk." She put on a stuffy, disapproving look that fooled no one. "I have to talk to Samuri, still. We sort of got off track. Your interruption isn't helping. Merle can stay, but I don't think that Balin-"

"Hitomi, I know for a fact that you have not told Balin anything about- well, you know. It is high time he learn." Merle rested her slender hand on Hitomi's forearm and Hitomi gave her an ambiguous look. Balin looked pleased that _someone_ was finally standing up for him. Samuri just looked thoughtful.

"Aunt Hitomi, if it's that important Balin should stay. The king would probably like to hear this too," she said, glancing pointed at Balin and he immediately stood, leaving to fetch his father. "I'm sure that he needs to know whatever you need to tell. You were saying something about visions." Samuri furrowed her forehead just slightly, not at all thinking of her minute victory of outsmarting Balin.

"All right. Getting back to the real reason I decided to talk to you, Samuri. Right before Balin and Van woke us up, did you have a strange vision? Something about falling."

"How did you know?"

"I was falling too, then feathers fell all around me and then I saw Van's face waking me up."

"That's what happened to me. What do you think?"

"I don't know, I just remember talking to you and then all of a sudden we were falling."

"Oh, okay." _So she doesn't remember the pendant. Why not? I remember it just fine. That bird flew in and we both touched the pendant and it started glowing. It's like when Mom tried to give the pendant to me. It started glowing and I was here, instead of at home. This is so weird._

"I have a feeling that the mysterious light appearing again after all these years means something. And another Mystic Moonling visiting Gaea. And us having visions. These are all signs. Something is going to happen. I'm not quite sure what, though."

"Do you mean the first time you came, Aunt Hitomi? How do you know that they're signs? I don't understand how those are all connected," said Samuri confusedly.

"Remember how I told you about the Great Gaea War? Well, it occurred after I appeared here. Everyone took it as superstition that if they ever saw that light again, it meant bad luck and misfortune. Of course, they did have reason to believe that. Fanelia was burned to the ground soon after that incident. And also, I haven't had visions in the longest of time. It just doesn't fit, I mean suddenly all these things occur and they're not supposed to be connected? That's not right. This all leads to something, something bad. I'm just not sure right now. My visions have always been pretty specific before. They warned me about some danger, but that last one was so vague…" Hitomi trailed off thoughtfully.

"Hitomi, does this mean that Gaea is in danger of another Great War?" asked Merle, horrified.

"I'm not sure. I'm sorry, but I can't help it. I'm not in control of the premonitions that I get. I can't just force it to come to me," said Hitomi apologetically.

"Oh, I didn't mean it like that. I know that it's not your fault, Hitomi. I was just- thinking aloud."

Samuri sat on the wide stone windowsill, thinking hard. There were so many strange things that were going on. She'd had daydreams of weird things and certainly pretty odd dreams, but dreams were supposed to be indecipherable. Excluding those strange things, that were fairly normal to everyone at one point or another (she hoped), she was pretty sure she'd never had something as odd as a… premonition she'd had with Balin's mother. Well, excusing that one time yesterday in biology class, but… that wouldn't count. Would it?

And what was up with her weird vibes from Balin? She knew that she was growing up and getting strange feelings from guys around her school that happened to be very cute, but Balin… The first time she'd seen him she had been in shock over his fall from the sky, so she'd barely noticed his good looks (though they were nothing compared to his heartbreakingly handsome father). And when she'd gotten over her surprise over a boy falling from the sky, she'd been offended by his rudeness.

No one in her school was ever rude to her. The popular kids had been a little upset that she hadn't wanted to join their little clique, but they hadn't done much but stop inviting her to all those stupid college parties that she wouldn't have gone to anyway. Samuri preferred her best friends' company over the chattering, giggling, gossiping, and back-stabbing company of the popular kids. But she'd never told any of the kids that. She had just ignored them. Balin had come as a huge shock.

One of the hottest guys she'd ever met and he turned out to be the jerk of the century. Under that 'I'm a prince and I'm so polite' exterior was a real pain in the ass and she somehow got to see it all the time. The only other person that had ever really bugged her was her brother and even he had stopped. And he hadn't been so damn cute when doing it. Samuri barely withheld a grumble of annoyance at her raging hormones that would have been heard and noted by the adults behind her. Sure, there was something about him that made her trust him, but he was so annoyingly arrogant sometimes that she couldn't help teasing Balin a little when she got the chance. Not only did he look adorable when he was indignant, but it was the only way she could keep him in check for presumptuousness. And it was the only way she could keep herself in check from running him down when he walked through the door.

Samuri sighed in frustration and looked out the window at a looming clock tower, chiming ten o' clock outside, over the industrious capital.

Boom... Boom... Boom…

Three strikes to signal ten a.m. in the morning. The tolls rung clearly through the bright morning air. And suddenly… it was too bright. The sunshine was overwhelming, choking her, burning her. She couldn't breathe. The loud booms echoed in her head. 

And there were flames. They were the source of the unbearable heat. And… and… she was in the middle of it all! She couldn't get out of the inferno, the burning and heat. The acrid smell of ashes and fire… and that unmistakable stench of scorching flesh. All she could see were the yellow and red flames; she couldn't breathe… She knew that she was going to die.

A piercing scream sliced through the air and she heard it in the corner of her consciousness. It was a moment before the realization hit her. It was she. She was the one who was screaming…

Hitomi and Merle's conversation had continued without Samuri at first, going into serious matters that had nothing to do with her, so they had thought she had just had nothing to say. But Hitomi was the first to notice that Samuri was stock silent. She held up a hand to Merle and pointed slowly to Samuri, her eyes narrowing. Merle glanced at the rigid body of Samuri staring out at the window and her feline eyes widened. She stood to rush over to the girl, but Hitomi quickly caught her arm and held her back.

"Samuri?" asked Hitomi hesitantly, approaching the girl cautiously. The air around Samuri was flaring up and each step that Hitomi took toward her the heat increased. The source of the immense heat was apparently Samuri.

Merle could hear Samuri gasping for air as she moved slowly closer, following Hitomi's lead. It was as if Samuri couldn't breathe. The gasps were getting louder and drops of perspiration were dripping down the girl's forehead. Her pale cheeks were becoming more and more flushed by the second. As they were just a few steps away from Samuri, the air becoming hotter and hotter, Samuri suddenly let out a shriek of pain. The air around Samuri turned a burning flame red and the once placid air around her became a tornado of motion. The shutters to the single window that she had been sitting near slammed shut, while Hitomi and Merle were blown away from her, hitting the hard, stone floor several feet away.

Unnoticed by all, a sliver of silver and glowing vermilion slipped off the neck of the queen to the ground, clattering noiselessly on the stones beside its owner.

"What's happening?!" asked Merle, forced to shout over the howling hot winds that whirled around them. Their gazes were both fixed upon the now darkened figure against the burning red air. Samuri's outline was blurred with the rising heat.

"I don't know!" Hitomi shouted back. "But I hope that it stops soon! I think it's going to break the door if it doesn't! Whatever it is!"

"What can we do?! We have to stop it! We cannot simply escape this and release it into the rest of the palace!"

"I don't know! Maybe we should try to get closer again!"

"That's not such a good idea. It's getting worse!" Merle was right. The heat was slowly increasing and the air was getting so thick that it was hard to see. She could feel her face beginning to blister. Luckily, her thick, pink fur was covering the rest of her showing skin. Hitomi, however, wasn't as fortunate. The queen curled herself up and covered her face with her arms to shield her vulnerable skin from the immense heat. 

"We're in major trouble!" shouted Hitomi from her shrunken position, her voice muffled. Merle quickly copied Hitomi in shielding her face and prayed that Hitomi would be wrong.

~*~*~

Strolling down the large, stone corridor, humming slightly, the Crown Prince and heir to the Fanelian throne was in no rush to find his father, who had not been in his study. And it was such a pleasant day, why should he hurry for no particular reason? A small, cool breeze touched off the spring-like day perfectly. The flowers were blooming and everyone in sight was enjoying the impeccably clear day. Courtiers were viewing the gardens out in the courtyard and servants were in no particular bustle to finish their chores, teasing and flirting playfully with each other.

He was only mildly bored, thinking absently of Samuri. 

The clock tower out in the city of Fanelia, chimed the ten o'clock bells.

Boom... Boom... Boom…

Balin paused to listen for the last two remaining bells. But… they weren't chiming. What was happening? There were always five chimes for ten o'clock, unless… Unless there was something terribly wrong.

His vision blurred for a moment. Suddenly, he could see bright yellow and orange flames swirling around him. The heat was intense and his face was burning. And a dark silhouette of a familiar figure appeared in the midst of the flames. It was blurred by the rising heat, making a mirage type texture to it. He could hardly breathe; the air was so thick with smoke and fire. And suddenly he was back. He gasped at the suddenness and knew…

He had to hurry. Without checking to see if the coast was clear, he began to sprint down the hallway, footsteps echoing in his path. Frightened maids and courtiers jumped out of the way as he ran past. Balin didn't stop to make amends, knowing there was no time. Something was happening… and he needed his father there to make it right.

~*~*~

"… 'n' rainfall has fallen a full twenty-percent in de whole of the kingdom from last season, sire. Desperate need fer water in some of the southern regions of the realm has arisen. Many farmers fear that t'will be a drought on its way, come summer. There be something indefinably amiss, Majesty. We canna explain it. Last season, crops were thrivin' and the weather was perfect wit' rain every week. But, now, there be not a cloud in the sky for weeks, even months! We shall starve if there be no solution to this soon…" the farmer representative trailed off and looked pleadingly at his overlords. The Fanelian Ambassador, Allen Schezar, narrowed his eyes pensively on the aging peasant, remaining silent. The rest of the High Council had been dismissed for the rest of the day. His Royal Majesty, Van de' Fanel, who had been paying the utmost attention to the representative, stroked his bearded chin concertedly and sighed.

"I'm not quite sure what I'll be able to do about an incoming drought, Priam, but your people will certainly not starve while I reign. The capital will send supplies and such until they are unnecessary. Until then and after, I suggest that a water ration order be declared. Your people know what to do when droughts appear."

"As ye' will, sire. But, from the signs, this drought t'will be far worse than any of de others. All but the wealthiest of farmers have already begun rationing water and conditions're currently worse than even the Rimmia Drought seven seasons ago," replied Priam, worriedly scratching his stubble-covered chin. There were bags under his eyes and creases in his face that had not been there a matter of weeks ago. Van frowned inwardly and glanced toward Allen who lifted a perfectly sculpted eyebrow and slowly shook his blonde head. His trusted friend and ambassador's actions said that he knew even less what should be done than Van did, which did not help the matter.

"I don't know what more I can do as of this moment, but-" The king was abruptly cut off when the door burst open and Balin appeared, panting breathlessly beside it. Both he and Allen started out of their chairs for the alarmed boy.

"Balin, what the-" Allen began to say, his hands gripping the hilt of his sword tightly.

"Father! Allen! There is something terribly wrong…" Balin fought for breath. "Mother… Samuri… We have to-" And then, a scene flashed across Van's vision, blocking all sight and sound from his consciousness. Out of the darkness and silence, a scream filled his ears, piercing and terrible. Orange and red filled his mind. Flames licked at his clothes and unbearable heat bore down upon him. A dark shape was writhing with pain and… the pendant circling his neck was glowing. Everything had disappeared after the flash and Van blinked to clear his vision.

"Balin, they're in trouble. We'd better get to them quickly. Allen, you'd better come with us. Priam, I'm sorry but I must cut this meeting short. I promise that we will continue this later." Allen nodded curtly in response and bolted out the door, Balin and Van at his heels.

As they rushed down the halls, brushing aside assortments of people, all Balin could remember later was the flash of long golden hair and smooth dark hair running alongside each other, racing to reach the guest wing. The moment that they had hit the corridor, a blast of hot air brushed Balin's cheeks. His eyes widened in surprise as he realized that the source of the tremendous heat seemed to be Samuri's room. It was growing slowly, the temperature rising degree by degree. A shimmer in the air was beginning to form in the corridor around them.

Allen reached the door first and he grabbed the metal doorknob trying to rush in before thinking. Balin cringed in horror and stared as the brass in the knob burned a deep red with the knight's hand still grasping it. In that fraction of a second after the handle had turned color, Allen released it and jumped back with a loud shout. He cradled his hand to his chest and Balin noted the quick burst of gray smoke that resulted from the knight's impetuous action.

"Allen!" his father gasped, panting and still out of breath. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine, but how are we supposed to get in?! We'll never be able to open that blasted door." A growl of frustration escaped his lips.

Frowning, Balin searched his mind for any ideas. A magnetic pull appeared and tugged at his mind, urging him to enter the room and quickly. But Balin hadn't the slightest clue of what to do. The pull increased, pounding in his temples. It was getting harder to breath correctly. Balin gently massaged his head, thinking hard.

"Balin, is something wrong?" He turned towards his father, who was looking concerned. And Van rested his non-injured hand on his son's shoulder.

As soon as Van's hand came into contact with Balin's shoulder the pull in his head magnified and they were all suddenly inside Samuri's room. Van blinked in surprise, as did Balin and Allen, but they had no time to comment. Samuri had then released another blast of hot air, tossing both Balin and his father back against the stone wall. Grunting in pain, they crumpled to the floor.

The heat was a thousand times hotter than outside and Balin could feel his face beginning to crack and burn. The roar of air expanding from the heat was deafening and he could hardly breathe.

"Balin!" He heard his father's voice, apparently shouting, beside him and he turned around in response. Talking was about impossible as sound had little air to vibrate on and the roar was increasing. But he could see his father's mouth move and motioning towards the curled figures of his mother, Merle, and Allen. He then, tucked into a tight ball, too, covering his face and bare skin. Balin understood and was just about to follow, when a bright blue light shone from the corner of the dark, red room, catching his attention. It began to grow and its immense power bore down upon his consciousness.

Then suddenly, though the heat wasn't a fraction less, he could find the strength to stand. The blue light intensified and he reached out his hand to bring it closer. To his surprise, it obliged. The glowing light inched closer and closer to him, slicing slowly through the thin hot air. He held up his hand and the light shot straight into his palm. Blue light breezed through him and the heat was gone.

And so was everything else.

The room and his parents and Merle had all disappeared, their figures fading into the warring lights. There was only Samuri left, standing in the source of the heat. And she was in pain, though she seemed to be frozen in an unmoving place. He could see it in her eyes, though. They were dilated and he could hear her soul screaming for help in the pools of silvery light. Balin didn't know why or how, but he knew instinctively what to do. It was as if the blue light was guiding his movements. Balin stood and went to her, the healing light following him.

"Samuri!" he tried to say, but his words were lost when they hit the reddish glow that had encircled her. _Samuri_, he yelled in his mind with all his might. And it seemed that she could hear him, as he saw that her face contorted with what seemed to be an answer to his call.

__

Balin… her mind voice trailed off as if falling down an endless precipice and he could tell that she was burning up inside the heart of the flames that she had somehow created. He struggled nearer, though the screaming winds had begun to try slowing him down. The bright red and blue lights flickered back and forth on the interface between them, neither gaining an inch.

__

Samuri! Do not lose hope! But he knew that he was losing her. Desperate now, he flung out his hands, trying to reach her. His protecting blue light flew from his hands, straight into the hot aura, straight at Samuri. His eyes widened in surprise.

The shock of the air blasted through him as the glowing blue orb hit the red aura. It seemed that the earth beneath them rocked with commotion as it contacted and the two lights went out in a bright flash. All feeling of hot or cold disappeared. There was suddenly nothing. Balin couldn't see or feel or hear anything and he could feel panic rise like a thick poisonous bile in his throat. _Help_, he thought, glancing frantically around in the darkness. _Samuri? Are you there? Please… someone… answer me._

His mind's voice echoed strangely in the void. No one was there and fear burned his eyes as furious tears welled up. _What had happened?! It wasn't supposed to be like this!_ He didn't know how he knew it, but he did. He wasn't supposed to be alone! But suddenly, he could hear rhythmic panting breath, as if someone were running. Running desperately away from something. Balin whirled around, but there was nothing but blackness. The short gasps were getting louder as if someone was getting closer. _Samuri?!_

__

Balin! He could hear Samuri's voice pierce through the nothing. Panic and fear knitted firmly into it. _No! No! No, don't let it get me! Balin, help! Help me!_ The panting breath continued and he could hear her heartbeat run faster as she suddenly appeared in front of him, breathing hard and looking behind her shoulder as if something were following her. She ran straight into him and let out a scream of pure fear as she turned to face him. When he saw her face, he almost cried out himself. Her skin had gone paler than a sheet and a cold sweat dripped down her wrinkled forehead. Her silver eyes had widened so much that they had taken almost half of her face.

Quickly and instinctively, he enclosed his arms around her, as he'd seen his father do so many times to his mother. Protecting her from her fears and from the world. It seemed so natural. He had never thought so before, but with Samuri it was so simple and easy. She sobbed dry tears against his chest and her breathing started to slow, her heart beating in tune with his. Rightness was all that could have described that moment for him. But all good things came to an end and it was to quickly enough.

A mist appeared out of nowhere, apparently following Samuri's tracks. It covered everything, sweeping the darkness away, as if trying to smother them. Samuri whimpered immediately and he clutched her tightly to him as he looked up and about. A thick batch of opaque fog enclosed them and a dark form appeared behind Samuri, stalking closer and closer. _Stay away from her!_ Balin yelled, protectively tightening his hold around Samuri. He couldn't seem to move his legs to run away, so he would have to stay and fight. But the dark form didn't seem to care what Balin did and it soon reached its destination: Samuri.

The black form engulfed Samuri and Balin, who remained unaffected; she cried out in what seemed to be immense pain and collapsed in Balin's arms. With her heavy deadweight suddenly bearing down his arms, he felt himself being pulled to the floor. Struggling, he sat carefully and held Samuri close to him as he looked desperately around him, the darkness was closing in again. Samuri had passed out, her eyes rolling towards the back of her head and she moaned in pain. A flash of white light suddenly jolted through her and she screamed. Balin flinched and clutched her closer to him, praying to the Fates to keep her safe, because there was nothing else he could do.

~*~*~

The screaming of the hot winds had come to an abrupt halt and the temperature level dropped back to normal. Hitomi gasped as she felt the winds stop pounding at her and scrambled to her feet. Then her heart stopped as she saw the column of white light that had formed in the middle of the room. And in the center of it were Samuri and her beloved son.

"Balin…" Hitomi heard herself whisper and held out her hand as if to bring him closer to her. She felt her heart lurch in her chest, and she wasn't sure if it could take the strain. A comforting familiar weight settled onto her shoulder as Van placed his hand there and. But she knew that she couldn't interfere with whatever was about to take place. She could feel a great stirring in the spirits of the land and the elements, though she had long left the art of foretelling and foresight in her past.

Her best friend's daughter and her son seemed to float off the floor, a foot apart from one another; their eyes closed and in between them shone two glowing orbs. One red and one blue. The light suddenly intensified and Samuri's eyes flew wide open. Hitomi heard Merle and Van gasp in surprise, and the crease in her forehead deepened. The deep silver pools of her iris had consumed her pupils. The strands of her hair twisted around her head forming a dark halo. And she didn't seem to be there completely. Out of Samuri's mouth came her voice that wasn't her voice and demanded attention, echoing in a mystical way about the room. The sheer power of the girl's voice was frightening and the white light expanded and deepened.

__

The Dragon's Shadow Has Long Since Faded from the Land

Awaiting the One Who Can Awaken It Again

Evil Lurks in the Darkness, Victory at Hand

The Chosen Must Fight

Though the One Has Long Forsaken It

Anew Is In Sight

He Must Hold Fast to the Sword of Fate

To Win Back the Light

The light flashed off for a moment, and a glimpse of Samuri in pain was revealed. It seemed that Samuri was struggling with something, her face contorted and her muscles tensed. But then the light returned and she continued in the prophetic tone.

__

Separate They May Be

But Its Shadow Is Alone

Twinned Eyes to See

And in the End to Atone

The Rent Will Be Sealed

Samuri's clear silver eyes seemed to take in the four of the original adventurers: the knight, the bard, the angel, and the Earthling. The ones that helped end the Great Gaean War.

__

Forever, For Eternity…

And with those words still echoing ominously, the light went out with a bang, as if suddenly extinguished like water to a flame. Samuri and Balin seemed to drop slowly, giving Allen and Van enough time to rush forward and catch them before they hit the floor. The room seemed to return to normal, the shutters creaking slowly open and a slight breeze entering through it as the fourth and then the fifth bell chimed, the twitters of the birds continuing as though nothing had ever happened.

Boom… Boom…

Hitomi looked from her unconscious son supported in her husband's arms and her best friend's daughter in Allen's arms and sighed. The sound was shared by Merle as she plopped on the ground again. "Well, Merle, you know what this means." Hitomi smiled wearily at the cat woman and took a place beside her friend, as they stared at the two men before them, carefully lay the two teenagers on the floor.

"The light's appearance marks another battle and the clock strikes three for the vision of the end," the cat bard quoted prettily. "Can't even remember which story that's from, it's so old. But, do you think that we'll be able to survive this one?" The queen hesitated, still staring at her husband checking her son's pulse. She knew that both of the children were all right.

"I really don't think that it's up to us anymore. We had our chance and now the future of this world and who knows how many other is up to them."

The cat woman nodded in assent. "The new generation. So be it. Our future lies in the hands of the new generation."

* **Author's Notes** *

hey y'all!

Finally got this chappie up! I'm so happy! Yeah, it's really unedited and unorganized, but it's there (whew!) it's a doozie. 16 pages! Yikes, but tell me what u think. I do sorta babble a lot in there, but I'm trying to hurry my way into the actual plot, yeah, I'm struggling… but hey. D'y'all like my lil' ditty? Took me two hours to make it RHYME, so yeah, I'm proud of it. It's got some nice hints in there, if u take the time to figure 'em out. See! The rhyming thing is addicting! Ok, I'll stop now.

What do u think of the catbard idea? I thought that it was pretty good, borrowed it from Diane Duane in one of her books. And the birthright thing that I mentioned, well it comes from the fact that Merle was found by Van's big brother Folken. Cat bards are destined to be bards if they're found abandoned in a sack. I dunno about the sack part, but I figured that this could work. But what do I know. R+R and tell me what U think!

-w.r


	8. Trials

Disclaimer: if I owned it, I wouldn't be here right now, and as I'm here right now I guess u can say I don't own it (Visions of Escaflowne), however, all the newbies here r mine, so pls don't steal 'em

Warning: serious cussing here, thus the rating PG 13, so enter at ur own risk

Chapter 5

Trials

"Bless the Fates in the Heavens above us! What is this, the fourth time that everyone falls asleep on me! And no one, still, has told me what's going on! And why is it that I'm always_ not_ here when all the interesting stuff happens!" a young, prissy, girlish and very annoyed voice shouted from somewhere in the distance.

Samuri came to at once at the obnoxious sound. Looking around she saw that she lay on rumpled sheets and that there was bright light surrounding her in the room that she'd seen before. She was still there. The strange place that her 'aunt' had called Gaea. She had thought, no, hoped, that it had all been just a dream. But she had known that it had not been a mere dream. She was hurting too much for it to be just a dream. True, it wasn't as bad as running miles and miles at her spawn of the devil of a coach's whims, but she felt drained even though she had a gut feeling that she'd been sleeping for more than a while.

The drained feeling was something akin to how a mother felt at the end of a school less summer day for her three children after carting them to their softball, soccer, and baseball games. Or that's how her mother had always put it.

"I mean, it's always so boring whenever I'm here, but I leave for five seconds and then a Mystic Moonling comes, prophecies get told, and Balin gets a _girlfriend_! I can't find adventure _anywhere_ when I'm here, but it always drops into your laps when I'm gone!" The annoying voice kept going and Samuri groaned, crushing her pillow to her head, desperately trying to block out the racket. It was just like she'd never left home. Waking up to shouting and screaming about being late for school, art classes, and a sport occurred daily.

"Miss Sadie, please calm down," came a distressed young, but older voice. "I know that you're upset, but-"

"Hells, yes, I'm upset! Why not just throw in the naughty word and call it pissed!" shrieked the churlish voice back. The voices seemed to be getting louder as if they were getting closer. "And then Daddy's leaving for a dangerous mission again and I can't go! I don't understand this!"

"Miss Sadie, please. You shouldn't curse. Your mother and father are indisposed and-"

"Oh, right. They're indisposed so they can't see me, I know! But I don't want to see them, I want to see Balin and I want to see the alien, so why can't I?!"

"You know the rules, Miss Sadie. You're not even supposed to be here right now." The older woman's voice sounded worried. "Lessons began fifteen minutes ago and I'm sure that your tutor is looking for-"

"Master Kepler doesn't give a damn where I am as long as he gets paid on time." A bang sounded as the door was thrown open and Samuri looked up to see a scrawny, medium sized cat girl leapt through the doorway, a nervous-looking nurse trailing not far behind. She set her curious blue eyes on Samuri, tossing her strawberry blond hair out of her face. "Who are you and where is Balin?"

Samuri blinked and stood there for a moment, too surprised to speak. "Um, I'm Samuri and I have no idea where Balin is. Who are you?" The girl sniffed her delicate nose and plopped down uninvited on the bed, the nurse fretting silently near the doorway. Samuri frowned, as the girl seemed to be so dirty that her dress looked different shades of brown.

The cat girl absently tugged a dirty blonde colored cat ear and pulled her legs into a tailor style stance. "The name's Sadie. And whadda you mean, you don't know where Balin is? Everyone said he was here. More to the point, Aunt C said he was here and anything Aunt C says is true." Samuri just sat there for a moment, not quite able to deal with the girl's energetic attitude. It was like dealing with a talkative six-year old, who never stopped asking questions, and trusted whatever you said.

"Well, he might've been here before, but I don't know about now."

Faint sounds of cheerful laughter and loudening voices bounced off the stones in the corridor, and the young woman in the door, who Samuri assumed was the annoying cat girl's unable keeper, looked nervously about. "Miss Sadie, look your mother comes to scold you. I told you not to come here." The nurse wrung her hands anxiously and Sadie sighed exasperatedly.

"Mother is coming to talk to this girl. Rita, if you're so nervous just leave already, I'll tell Mums that I left you in the nursery. Now, shoo." The nurse scampered out as quickly as possible and Sadie sighed again. "The newcomers are always so shaky." And just as Samuri opened her mouth to finally say something intelligent, through the open doorway swept the Lady Merle, her Aunt Hitomi and two other younger boys that she wasn't sure she knew.

"Samuri, dear, it seems you've woken up finally. We were beginning to get worried," said Merle. "Sadie, I see you've scared off the new girl again. And shouldn't you be in lessons."

The girl pouted and pointed to a lanky silver haired boy who stood grinning by the Queen and another slightly shorter cat boy who looked even smugger. Samuri felt her heart flutter as she stared at the silver haired boy. With his heart melting white-toothed smile, boy-next-door good lucks, and regal air, she knew that he would be a lady-killer when he grew older. His blue-green eyes swam with understanding and compassion, though the glint of boyish youth gave them a cheerful look. He seemed to be the exact opposite of his friend, casually leaning on the taller boy's shoulder. Everything about the cat boy screamed trouble. His honey hinted hair, that matched the scruffy looking cat ears, was decisively messy and a mischievous light gleamed in his cornflower blue eyes.

Sadie's sulky voice brought Samuri back to the present. "Mums, Fallen and Kai are here. I don't see why I can't miss lessons if they are."

"How are you, Samuri?" Hitomi smoothly interrupted before the cat bard could open her mouth to give sharp retort to her daughter. "Balin was worried, so he sent us up. He's a little preoccupied at the moment."

"I'm holding up. What's up with the brat pack, though?" She gestured to the people milling about her. The two unidentified boys were leaning quietly against the wall, acting as if they would have liked to contribute to the conversation but were restrained by the lack of introductions. Sadie had plopped easily down on the floor, and Hitomi looked around smiling slightly, seated on a red brocaded armchair, nearest to the bed.

"Oh, I completely forgot about them." The two boys perked up in interest and the cat girl sighed in boredom. "I see you've already met Sadie and this is my-" The queen was interrupted by a breathless Balin as he barged through the doorway, gasping for breath. His dark hair was ruffled as if he hadn't combed it and Samuri felt her own breath catch and her heartbeat speed up, though she hadn't done any type of running.

"Sorry, I'm late. Father wanted to talk to me. What've I missed?"

"Balin!" Sadie screeched as she launched herself at him. He caught her before she could bowl them both over. "Where have you been?! I've been looking for you everywhere. And why does everyone say that you've got a new girlfriend? You promised you'd be my boyfriend!" The room erupted with laughter and Samuri almost laughed herself sick at the sight of Balin's suddenly wine red face.

"Sadie, er, it's nice to see you too. I haven't got a girlfriend and I really don't think I've made any promises to you about that."

The cat boy smoothly cut in before Sadie could reply. "Balin, stop your fussing and get on with the intro already. I wanna know who the pretty lady is." His playful wink brought a laughing smile to Samuri's lips.

"Well, now this lady's man is my son, Kai, and Sadie's twin." Merle stepped beside her son, catching him around the shoulder.

Balin cleared his throat and gently disentangled Sadie from himself. The silver haired boy stepped up, smirking, and punched him lightly on the arm. "I'm Fallen and this is pushover here is my big brother." Samuri's eyes widened and she almost fell off the bed.

"You've got a brother?!"

Balin raised an eyebrow incredulously, as if he were restating the obvious. "Yes, of course. Why wouldn't I?"

"Well, I never thought- I mean, I've been here for about two days now and-"

"Not two days. It's been a week since you've arrived here. You've been out of it for approximately five days."

"What? Okay, I'm not going to ask, but where has you brother been, then?"

"Oh, me, Sadie, Kai, and a couple other people were off on a trip to Asturia when you came. We just got back a few days ago," Fallen replied for his brother, who smirked and gently ruffled the other's perfectly placed hair. The brothers seemed to dote on each other, despite the fact that they were so close in age. _They'll probably show they're true feelings later, when I've been around them longer_, Samuri thought, grinning as she thought of how her siblings and she acted in company and in private. The difference was astonishing.

"Okay." Samuri massaged her temple and fell back on the bed. "I think I've been out for one too many days or something."

"Sorry about that, Samuri," Hitomi said apologetically. "But the doctors told us to refrain from waking you up. Balin, himself, was only awakened because of an important meeting between his father and him." Balin's expression sobered and he nodded his confirmation.

"Now that you're awake, Lord Van has requested an audience with you to discuss your presence here on Gaea and a few other significant- er- matters that occurred," Merle continued, releasing her son and walking closer to the bed. "If you're up to it, we should get going now. The lesser throne room is quite a walk from here."

"Hey, Mums, do you think that we-"

"Yes, Sadie, you, your brother, and Fallen, may attend as long as you keep your mouths shut," Merle interrupted calmly. "This may pertain to you three as well, but it contains classified information that the public should definitely not hear about and if there is any type of leak you all will be our first suspects. Understood?"

"Yes, ma'am," the three pre-teens chorused obediently.

"Good, you will all wash up before we start off. Appearance is everything and we wouldn't like to present our guest from the Mystic Moon in such a way, now would we?" Merle hinted to Hitomi and Samuri as she ushered the protesting trio out the door and down the hall to a washroom.

Samuri stared her polished steel eyes up at Hitomi suspiciously. "Uh, I hope that doesn't mean what I think it means." Her aunt laughed genially and Balin looked like he wanted to roll his eyes, but didn't.

"Sweetheart, it's not like I'm going to dress you up in a formal gown just to see my husband, though Merle might have gotten that idea stuck in your head to torture you." Samuri grimaced a little. From what she'd seen of the cat bard/lady Merle and her mettle, she didn't think she would take up a bet against Hitomi's statement.

A bored Balin headed back out the door. "Mother, I'll return to the throne room and you can prepare Samuri for presenting her to the court. Whatever it is that ladies do to prepare, as I know as much as hell's teeth do about what you women do to take forever. So I'm off again." Samuri's eyes widened at the words 'presenting to the court' came up.

"Balin, you shouldn't curse," replied his mother almost automatically, "and I hope you know that you'll get a very deserved comeuppance for that very chauvinistic statement."

"I know, which is why I'm running now." His cheerful response echoed from the corridor and the queen chuckled and turned back to Samuri.

"Sorry about that, Samuri. You should really get up now and I hope you have a nice shirt to wear. Preferably different and cleaner than the one that you've been wearing since you've gotten here." At the brisk sound of Hitomi's voice, Samuri sighed in defeat.

"Actually, Aunt Hitomi, I don't really have anything that's presentable. But what I really don't get is why you have to 'present me to the court'. I mean, only ladies do that when they're visiting. I'm just like a family member or something. Why do I have to be introduced to everyone? It's not like I'm going to a ball or something anytime soon." The queen nodded, understanding and went to sit beside her on the bed.

"It's not only that, Samuri. You have to be announced an official guest of Fanelia and the King, therefore gaining you official guardianship and protection. Without such, you could be attacked and it would be easier to justify it. The people to do so would claim your alien status as a danger to the city and country."

"That makes sense, but why would anyone want to attack me? I mean, what threat do I pose at all?"

"Well, some people feel that you're dangerous because you're from the alternate universe. And then there's always the believers who feel that- maybe I should let Van explain this. You'll be meeting with him shortly at any rate." She patted Samuri's shoulder reassuringly and changed subjects before the other could object. "We'll have to solve that 'clothesless' problem, though. Good thing you didn't tell Merle. She'd set you up for some immediate tailor appointments. I love her dearly, but she can be so irritating every once in a while. And this clothes obsession of hers is getting on my nerves." The queen sighed with frustration and Samuri couldn't help a little giggle. "Oh, don't worry. She'll go after you, too, once she finds out. But for the time being, I'll get you something comfortable that I would wear if Merle wouldn't lecture me on how I should dress like a queen. I always ask her what for and she gives me a very funny look. You go wash up, there's a basin of water right there, while I ring for the maid to bring it."

Samuri smirked and washed her face and hands. The cool water felt heavenly on her sweaty, dirty, and not washed for a week skin. She closed her eyes and prayed that there was some type of indoor plumbing around, so she could bathe later on.

Five minutes passed and the maid that Hitomi had called had rushed a suitable outfit to her room. "It's a tunic type thing. And it's extremely comfortable with the pants loose and the light cotton shirt," explained Hitomi as Samuri slipped the clothes over her head. They fit fine and the color was flattering, the navy blue of the tunic and pants bringing out a dark violet sheen to her brushed and now cleaned hair and the light white cotton ensured her cool temperature throughout.

"It's wonderful. Thanks, Aunt Hitomi." Samuri went on a limb and hugged her supposed aunt briefly. The queen blushed slightly with pleasure.

"Well, it probably doesn't fit me anymore. Haven't worn it in ages and I probably never will again. So why don't you keep it, Samuri? Daughterless as I am, there's really no one else who can fit it." Samuri flashed a smile and nodded, accepting the gift. A quick knock on the door interrupting the moment.

A cleaned up and formally dressed Sadie, Kai, and Fallen entered with Merle. The cat bard nodded her approval. "You look great. We'd better get going though." Samuri and Hitomi nodded and followed the rest of the group out the door and down the hall.

"Hey, Samuri, didn't recognize you in nice clothes," hissed Sadie, as she dropped back behind Samuri. Silver eyes flashed angrily as Samuri shot one back. 

"Didn't recognize you with your face clean."

"Enough, you two," ordered Hitomi, who was attempting to straighten the creases in her pale green gown as she walked. "Merle, can you please braid my hair? It's a mess, right now." Merle rolled her cerulean colored eyes as she paused to commandeer the queen's hair, keeping pace with the fast walking group. Samuri refrained from stating that Hitomi didn't need to fix anything about herself, because even in the queen's state of untidiness she couldn't have looked more stately and beautiful.

"Hitomi, when I left to get cleaned up, why didn't you do the same?"

"I was busy, cleaning up Samuri."

"And I was busy cleaning up your son, mine, and that dirty little kitten I call a daughter, but I still managed." Samuri took in Merle's spotless saffron hued gown and the smoothly pinned back cerise colored hair.

"Hey!"

Everyone ignored the expected input of Sadie's. "Merle, I forgot, okay? I mean, we've both been married for over a decade. We aren't expected to look perfect _every_ morning, nor do we."

"I understand, Hitomi. But just this once, you could've taken it into account."

"I was busy with sending out supplies and rations to the countryside. I forgot. Being sovereign isn't about dressing nicely all the time. I was helping people, I don't have time for everything!"

"All right, all right. At least you look half decent now." The cat woman stepped back after tying the bow to the end of the long braid. Samuri blinked, having been fascinated by the conversation and a bit sad that it had ended. She looked around at her companions, taking in their cleaner and better dressed than they had been state. Kai and Fallen walked together, obviously the best of friends, their heads locked together in deep conversation and Samuri felt trouble brewing. Sadie trailed them, listening quietly and sulking slightly at being scrubbed clean, no doubt, Samuri thought smugly. The cat girl's face was now spotless and a little pink from cleanliness. Her dress had been replaced with a new baby blue one, the color matching her eyes.

Samuri couldn't help a tiny little sneer as a "Goldilock" thought shot through her mind. Sadie caught the change of face, followed up on the thought thread, and glared daggers in silent reply.

After a tiring fifteen-minute walk, Samuri figured that they were close to their destination. Courtiers in elaborate clothing that looked extremely hot passed them, bowing and curtsying to the passing monarchs. Hitomi and Fallen acknowledged them with a wave of their hands, while Merle and the twins nodded deeply. Samuri clasped her hands uneasily behind her back, unsure of what to do in her situation and was extremely thankful when they reached two large oak doors, engraved with the royal Fanelian crest of two intertwined dragons. And the two guards flanking them bowed to their sovereign as she swept by.

A young page hurried to open the doors for them and another piped their entrance. His voice high and soprano above the rustling of skirts and clothes in the large room.

"Her Royal Majesty, the Queen Hitomi de Fanel and His Royal Highness, the Prince Folken Guarov de Fanel." The queen and Fallen stepped forward, nodding deeply to the rest of the room, and the page continued. "Her Ladyship and Royal Bard, wife of the Royal Ambassador, Merle Schezar, and her children, Sadira and Mekhi Schezar." Merle, Sadie, and Kai stepped forward and curtsied and bowed appropriately. The pageboy paused and looked confusedly at Samuri. He glanced helplessly around for assistance in announcing her. Fallen and Kai seemed all too pleased to comply, stepping aside and whispering something into his ear, laughing and giggling the while. The page frowned, but nodded, continuing hesitantly, "A visitor from afar, A-man-owes-Some-urine."

The heat in Samuri's face rose dramatically and Merle and Hitomi groaned as the trio of pre-teens cracked up, clutching the stitches in their sides. If looks could kill the three would be taking their last laughs.

As Merle gently collected the troublesome trio by their ears and Samuri had the delight of listening to the brats whine in pain, Hitomi cleared her throat and kindly bent to whisper a correction in the page's ear. The boy reddened faintly and quickly called, "Oh, I mean, Amano Samuri."

Samuri's face was still burning with embarrassment, the titters of the surrounding courtiers sounded loudly in the throne room, and she was beginning to wish she could just disappear. Then, a hush settled over the crowd of courtiers as they bowed low, the king standing to greet them. Hitomi squeezed Samuri's hand in comfort and made her way down the red carpet leading to the dais and into her husband's embrace.

The Fanelian crest and colors hung on a banner above the dais and on each of the Court officials' uniforms. The pages were donned in velvet red overcoats, the gold Fanelian crest embroidered in the fronts and backs. Samuri could even see the Fanelian insignia ring glinting from the King's finger. The double dragons were placed everywhere and it wasn't hard to tell whose court she was in.

Behind the couple, Samuri saw the older blonde man that she remembered seeing before, but wasn't quite sure where, stood with Balin. Their expressions were grave and Samuri knew that the matter 

The King gently pulled out his embrace and gestured for the courtiers to rise. He nodded slightly to Merle, who pushed Samuri forward under the King's reflected light. "I, Van de Fanel, King of Fanelia, would like to formally welcome this visitor from afar into my country and my household to stay as a guest. Lady Amano will be under Fanelia's aegis, under our protection, and under our wing, for as long as she remains here. If she is so much as offended in the slightest way, whether it be physically or in any other way, the might of all Fanelia and Her allies will stand in her defense."

His clear voice, the sheer strength and command of it, echoed in the room. The royal robes of office gave him an air of distinction and even if he hadn't had the golden circlet sparkling through his dark hair, everyone knew who was in charge. And as the heads of all the courtiers bowed in acknowledgment, Samuri knew that the King's pronouncement was heard and would be obeyed to the letter, including the unsaid warning to respect her. Samuri couldn't help a shiver of awe at the King's obvious power.

After the moment had faded, the King glanced at his herald, who nodded in acknowledgment and turned to the crowd of nobles. He knocked his staff three times on the floor, signaling the dismissal of the Court. "The Royal Court has now been dismissed." The courtiers murmured softly as they exited and Sadie and Kai shot forward to the dais, weaving easily through the stream of people.

"Daddy!"

Their shouts of joy brightened the intensity of the previous atmosphere as the twins charged straight at the handsome blonde man that Samuri knew by sight, though not by name. Merle followed them at a slower pace, a curious Samuri trailing close behind.

"Well, what have you two troublemakers been up to, other than torturing helpless innocents?" the man asked jovially as he bent to hug them.

"Oh, the usual, my lord. Mess and mayhem." Merle approached the man calmly, a sparkle that Samuri had never seen before in her eyes. The man didn't try to separate the twin pre-teens from himself, but reached out and enfolded the cat woman into his embrace with them. The smooth lady Merle blushed slightly when Sadie and Kai quickly extricated themselves and the man gallantly dipped her over, kissing her firmly on the lips.

The two twins and Fallen whooped jokingly and the King and Queen smiled broadly, as they themselves reached out to grab the other's hand. Even Balin cracked a smile, though he seemed distracted. When Merle had finally escaped the lip lock, she smiled breathlessly and turned to an impressed Samuri.

"Beg your pardon, and I've forgotten to introduce this rascal of a husband. This is my husband, Allen Schezar, the Royal Ambassador of Fanelia, born of Asturia, but I've got him tight in my claws here and now and I don't think I'm going to give him back." Merle grinned in a way that Samuri had never thought the elegant and graceful cat lady could, as her husband smiled warmly and bowed formally to Samuri. The knight in shining armor that her aunt had told her about was even more charming than she had thought. His flashing smile and piercing blue eyes cut straight to her heart and she could feel her knees beginning to give.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Amano." Samuri couldn't get herself to reply to the suave knight staring and smiling at her, so she nodded jerkily, praying that she didn't look too much the idiot. "But I'm afraid that I've distracted everyone fully for a moment, and we must get back onto business."

She sighed with relief and felt the strange burden lift from her shoulders as he looked away and turned to the King. The commanding man had been talking softly with his queen and nodded resignedly, sighing. "You're right, Allen. Please follow me, everyone. The Council is waiting for us." He moved down the dais steps and over to a side door of the room, everyone left in the room following his lead.

She stepped through the door and found herself in a smaller room that held a large rectangular table, where five people sat in wait. The King seemed to be confused at the amount of empty chairs at the table, but smiled warmly as a strikingly beautiful golden haired woman and a dreamy-looking man stood to greet him.

"Dryden! Millerna! What are you two doing here? I hadn't heard that you had arrived here so early."

The man smiled and shoved a hair through his messy silver locks. "Well, Van, we heard some disturbing news and decided that we couldn't afford to wait for all the fuss and fanfare to arrive here." The woman marred her smooth forehead with a small frown.

"We would have announced ourselves to the Court earlier, but we decided that that could wait until after we had met with you."

Hitomi stepped forward, her expression filled with concern. "So the news is very important? Has something happened in Asturia?"

"Oh, no, no," the man replied and he stared at Samuri for a moment. She swallowed with anxiety under the pressure of his gaze. "The first bit of it was something about a Mystic Moonling and the reappearance of that light from the sky. And as there is a newcomer among us, I'm sure that our sources were correct. The news can wait until after introductions and it will take quite a while to explain. So we'd better get on with them."

An eagle-like elderly woman sitting stoutly in her high-backed chair, glared out at them through wire-rimmed spectacles. "The fact that you have not even informed the Council of this girl's presence and status is intolerable, your Majesty." Samuri saw both Van and the man, she assumed to be named Dryden, wince at the harshness in the woman's voice.

"Of course, Lady Solon. I was going to explain it to you all right now, but it seems that they've all disappeared from here."

Lady Solon pursed her lips into a tight white line and glared harder at her ruling King, who flinched visibly. "I dismissed them all as your visiting… guests said they had important news to address to you, your Majesty."

"Oh." The King took a deep breath and seemed to be steeling himself for attack as he forced himself to go on. "That's all very well, Lady Solon, but perhaps next time you should wait to dismiss the Council before I can speak to them. I understand your sentiments for letting them off early as I would probably have my time occupied with my guests, but it will be extremely hard to bring them all back today and I had urgent business to discuss with them."

The woman blinked, as if considering her king's reasoning, and nodded. "As you wish, your Majesty." The King didn't waste time on a sigh of relief, though he looked as if he wanted to and Samuri (and she was sure a lot of other people in the room) let out a bated breath of relief for him. He gestured for everyone to sit and then started the discussion.

"Introductions seem to be needed. As I've already stated to the Court of Fanelia, this is Amano Samuri, my official guest of house here in Fanelia. She is from the Mystic Moon, so your reports were right. The light appeared again and brought her here." The silence that ensued was tense. "This is my advisor, Lady Tahiri Solon. She has graciously accepted the position after her husband has passed away a year ago." Samuri felt an inward flinch as the woman mentioned glared intensely at her. The King gestured for a thin good-looking young man, appearing to be in his early thirties or late twenties to stand up and introduced him. "This is the newly elected Prime Minister, Adenine Grekial. These are my dear friends, rulers of our ally, Asturia, King Dryden and Queen Millerna Fasta." Samuri felt her eyes widen as they focused on the man and woman seated diagonally from her. "

A fierce, well-muscled man with too many scars to count cleared his throat softly as he stepped out of the shadows of a corner. "And this is my head general, Phadis Grekial. He and Adanine are paternal cousins and Phadis is also in charge of my personal security as well as my family's." Samuri glanced from the handsome young Prime Minister to the scarred guarding general and couldn't see any type of resemblance, besides their brown hair coloring. She blinked and sensed that by judging the calculated averted looks between the two, there was a definite tension.

"At this point, I planned to send the rest of the Council out of the room." The King's face darkened visibly and Samuri saw out of the corner of her eyes, the trio of pre-teen troublemakers lean forward in avid interest. "This concerns you, Samuri."

The King's ruby colored eyes, so like Balin's, focused on her and she knew that the rest of the room was doing the same, but she didn't care. All she cared about was that the kind and caring gaze would not stop staring at her. Had she actually thought that the knight ambassador was the handsomest man she had ever seen? Obviously she had been mistaken. "What happened the other day was entirely out of the ordinary and was a warning to us. And I don't ignore warnings. Especially when they're shouted as loud as yours was." He paused as if waiting for her reply and she nervously moistened her suddenly dry lips.

"Sir, I don't think I understand what you're talking about. What warning did I give to you at all?" And before the King could respond, the man called Phadis slammed his hands against the table and shoved himself up, his chair falling backwards with a clatter.

"She's lyin'," he growled menacingly. "The lyin', deceivin' bitch deliberately put the King and Queen in danger that day, openin' a vortex to another dimension right here in the castle and then blatantly refusin' to translate that damned prophecy she made."

The King cleared his throat and shook his head violently, signaling for the man to stop, but Phadis hadn't finished yet, his voice rising steadily over the surprised murmuring of the rest of the room.

"The little witch shouldn't be declared a guest of Fanelia! She should be declared a traitor of high treason and burned at the stake-"

"That will be quite enough, Phadis," the King ordered somewhat angrily.

By then just about the whole table had stood up, Fallen and Kai restraining a furious Balin from attacking the general and everyone else in a state of moving shock. Samuri had sunk into her seat, her mouth falling open and suppressed tears burning her eyes. And under the gaze of everyone in the room she slowly rose to her feet and turned around, calmly and silently walked out of the door, quietly closing the door behind her.

Immediately after, Balin shoved his brother and Kai away from him, rushing out the door and after Samuri. The queen sighed and looked at her husband for direction. He nodded and quietly dismissed the rest of the room. 

"High General Phadis, that was completely uncalled for," Van said after they were left alone. "It was not your fault what happened. You were under my orders to be elsewhere. I understand your feelings, but that is no reason to vent them out on Samuri. She is a guest here and you have offended her. You know what will happen now." His head general and protector nodded silently and made to leave.

"I'll be expecting your formal apology or your resignation by tonight."

That made the general pause and turn to his liege, his rapid country accent gone now. "Sire, I owe you everything that I am, so I have served you loyally for over a decade. Is this girl from the Mystic Moon really worth it?" Van's eyes softened and he gripped his loyal friend's hand.

"Yes. There was no need for Samuri to translate her own prophecy. Merle and my wife have done it sufficiently enough. They have formally stated in their analysis of the situation that Samuri probably won't remember exactly what happened and even if she did, she wouldn't understand anything. The girl was possessed by a higher being. She was a tool used to give us a message, a warning. That's all. She's not a witch or a demon, just a girl blessed by the Gods with a special power not much unlike my wife's."

The burly man immediately bowed deeply to his King. "If that is your judgment, then I will respect it. You will have my formal apology this evening." And with that he turned to leave, but paused again, turning back with an afterthought. "The bard-lady Merle has informed me that this girl holds the fate of all Fanelia and perhaps all of Gaea in her hands. Should I hold to that, sire?" Van frowned slightly in confusion and nodded hesitantly.

"You should."

"My apology should be extremely good, then?" he asked, looking more than a little awkward and Van barely resisted the urge to grin. His generals weren't the type of people to apologize well.

"I should think so."

"Very well, sire."

The general was out of the door as if his heels were on fire and only then would Van allow himself to laugh.

* **Author's Note** *

hey everyone!

Sorry it's been so long, bad habits die hard and I write waaay too slow. Well, this is an introduction chapter, for all my new characters. Yeah, amazing some of the wacky things I've done to them, but hey, that's what I'm for *grin*. This is one of those annoying chapters that I had to get over w/ b/c I'm getting into the actual plot this next chapter.. hehe, yeah it's taken a while, but I'm almost there.

Tell me what y'all think of my pairing w/ Merle and Allen. Kinda weird, but stranger things have happened. I adore that Troublesome Trio (Fallen, Kai, and Sadie), they're jst so adorable. Yes, Fallen's real name is Folken Guarov. And then I have a load of new ppl to play w/!! (evil laugh) But anyways…

Right now, I'm on spring break, so I'm jam packing in as much writing as possible. But with finals around the corner, I'm not gonna have much time afterwards, so I probably won't be posting much during April, sorry! Hope u enjoyed this chapter!

-w.r


	9. Regrets

Disclaimer: don't own any of the original cast and characters or the original storyline, probably never will, but don't steal the new guys! They're mine!

Chapter 5

Regrets

Samuri stared longingly outside at the slowly setting sun. The scene was positively gorgeous over the palace gardens. A golden aura kissing the exotic petals of blossoms on deep green plants and though it could touch the hearts of many, it did not soothe the aches of Samuri's heart. 

The girl was homesick.

It was plain to all that passed by her. Her wide silver eyes reflected the bright glare of the sun, none of it's shining radiance passing into her mind. Nor was she actually staring at the sunset, but at the hovering orb just above the rising moon. She was staring at the Mystic Moon.

Earth.

Her home.

Everything that had happened that day was just too much for her to handle anymore. She had come to a strange new place where she knew almost nothing about. Had frightening new abilities arise from her sub-conscience and now she was alone. She was farther from her friends and family than she'd ever expected to be in her whole life and she didn't know whether she would ever be able to see them again or not.

A salty pearl of moisture slid down her cheek and Samuri quickly brushed it away. Blinking slowly, she swung her legs over the edge of the stone sill and laid her cheek against the side. The smooth rocks were cool against her warm skin and she felt her heart's weight increase. A sad sigh escaped her lips.

"Why should such a pretty face hold such a long expression?" whispered a man's husky voice in her ear, the warm breath caressing the sensitive skin.

She gasped in surprise and blindly attempted to turn to see whom it was. But in doing so losing her balance, and she slipped off the smooth rock edge of the windowsill. But before she could plummet fifty feet down to a harsh death, a strong hand grabbed hold of her arm preventing any harm.

Dangling off the side of a tall castle wall wasn't the very best thing to happen to an extremely homesick fifteen-year-old who was having a very bad day. And this was the last straw.

A loud shriek of angry frustration burst from her lips, echoing in the garden below. The owner of the husky voice, now sounding slightly annoyed, said rather clearly, after the reverberations had faded, "Dear, you need not be frightened. I shall not let go of your hand."  


She snarled nastily and yanked at the hand that was the only thing preventing her from a very nasty fall. "I'm _not_ scared and I'm not your 'dear'! Got it, bozo? And would you just pull me up, already?!" The voice grunted slightly and slowly began to lift her up to the ledge.

When she was just about up, the man gave a fierce tug, making her tumble toward him, and onto the floor. They landed hard, him catching the brunt of the fall. Samuri scrambled away from the man as quickly as she could and backed into the wall. He simply lay there, breathing hard. And after a few collective breaths, she took a good look at the guy who'd saved her from falling.

Golden blond, platinum hair crowned his head, falling in wavy lengths to his earlobes. Periwinkle-hued eyes blinked steadily at her, framed by fair lashes. A regally pointed nose and chin awarded a debonair air to him. In other words, he was straight out of a picture book of what the perfect and ideal knight in shining armor was supposed to look like.

He looked a little disgruntled and certainly out of place sprawled half-sitting, half-lying on the ground, ruining the effect of perfect time and place guy. He still seemed a little breathless from the effort of pulling her up; he opened his mouth to speak. Samuri quickly beat him to it.

"What the heck were you thinking, scaring me like that?! I could've actually fallen from that window! How do you have the audacity to do that you- you-"

"Charming, handsome, and dashing young man of many virtues," he cut in, sitting up and smiling. Samuri just glared at him for a moment and then, blinked and burst out laughing.

She was laughing so hard that she didn't notice a distraught Balin, frozen at the other end of the corridor. Nor did she see or hear anything as he took off at a run back the way he had come, after seeing all he needed to see. 

~*~*~

The continuing sunset was beautiful outside on the roof, but Balin wasn't paying attention to the rainbow of colors stretched across the sky. The sharp edge of his sword sliced through the air with a hiss. His sword. Given to him by his father on his thirteenth birthday. The priceless heirloom of a weapon, the Fanelian crest brazen on the hilt, passed on when he had been named the official heir to the kingdom. Given to "prepare for manhood" or so his father had said. And while his supposed friend and guest from the Mystic Moon had slept soundly, he had taken the liberty of returning his sword, found gleaming and fairly untouched in her backpack, to himself. Balanced on the ridge of the rooftop, he slashed and twirled his sword, an extension of himself, running to and fro, intensely drilling himself. Beads of perspiration formed on his furrowed brow and his muscles burned with the strain of supporting him on the thin ridge.

His mind was clear, void of emotions, just the way he liked it. The confusing day had left his brain foggy and he had to challenge his body to clear his mind of everything else. It was as simple as that.

"I don't know why you need to always come up here, Balin. It's getting chilly, too," an impish voice from behind him piped.

He frowned and whirled around, sword still out, though he had mindfully twisted it so the flat of the blade hit the cat girl, not the edge. A surprised cat hiss sounded and Sadie hit the floor hard. "Ouch! Balin! That hurt!"

"It's your own fault for letting your guard down," he retorted, turning his back to her. Her slitted blue eyes sparkled predatorily as she hissed again and lunged for him. Instinctively and without a thought, Balin shifted to his right. The cat girl missed him by an inch and tumbled back to her feet.

They had always sparred each other like this; out of habit, for practice, or for fun. Though, it had been some time since their last mock battle, since they had all been gone on a vacation to Asturia. Leaving him behind to be tortured by princely duties alone. Balin, Fallen, Kai, and Sadie, as a group, usually trained together. The typical pairing usually ending up as Balin versus Sadie and Fallen versus Kai. Just to keep everything 'equal' and 'fair', they sometimes switched sparring partners for fun. But as the sibling rivalry between Kai and Sadie was too hard to control, they kept changes to a minimal.

The feline twins detested swords, so they stuck with their basic honed hand to claw fighting skills. The crown prince and his younger brother had been taught at birth by one of the great swordmasters of Gaea, Phadis Grekial. Phadis had been found and trained by the legendary Balgus. And after the rebuilding of Fanelia, Van had called Phadis to their court to assist him in teaching and defending his country. The master warrior had taken a liking to Fanelia and had decided to stick around. Or that's what he had said to Balin, who, as usual, had never figured out the whole story.

A hissing snarl broke through his thoughts as Sadie launched herself at him, a small dagger appearing in her hand to counter his blade. Instinctively, he kicked out at her incoming attack, Sadie dodging his strike and swiped out at him with her clawed left hand. He pulled back in time so that the swing missed his face by a millimeter and the momentum swung her around and off balance.

The cat-girl lost her sense of surroundings and her holding on the ridge, slipping and sliding down the slanted roof. Balin, too, almost lost his balance and had to lean around a little to keep his place. It was unusually hard because he kept bursting out into laughter between gasps for breath. Meanwhile, Sadie kept sliding down and in one last act of desperation dug her sharp nails into the shingles to get a grip before she could actually fall off the roof.

"Whoa! That was too close!" She nimbly scrambled back up beside him, panting with the exertion. A feral grin flashed on her opponent's face.

"You'd think with all that down time in Asturia with your father that you'd improve at least a-" He stopped himself, his gaze sliding behind the spry cat-girl and his eyes widening in what looked like fear. The smirk disappeared, his mouth falling open in horror and for the first time in Sadie's life, she saw Balin drop his sword on his own free will. It clattered to the hard stones of the roof, sliding down the sides and falling into the roof's gutter.

Confusion pulled at her left eyebrow and her bottom lip quivered with panic. Heart pounding in her chest, she tossed her weapon aside after his and lunged forward to grasp his shoulders. "What? What's wrong, Balin?!" He was as stiff as a board, frozen in place. She leaned closer to him, staring into his eyes, trying to see what was wrong, but he remained unmoving. As she searched his face, she saw that his pupils had shrunken to tiny black dots. All consciousness along with it.

In the blood-red hue of his eyes reflected bright orange flames flickering in the disappearing sun. Sadie gasped and whirled around, releasing him from her hold. Frantically, she looked around, but all she could see was the dying light of the sun.

Nothing else.

"Balin! Wake up!" She whirled again to stare at her frozen friend. "Please, Balin!" Her voice cracked as she began to get hysterical. Tears leaked out of the corners of her cyan-colored eyes. Her slight body racked with sobs as she threw her arms around his tense body and hugged him close to her. 

"Balin…"

Her words never got past his ears.

* **Author's Notes** *

hey all!

Yes, I know it's been FOREVER. Since 3/16/02 *flinch, cringe* (someone made me look it up *sulk*), but please don't hurt me!! There was a lot to do!! And then I had writer's block… eh, well, anyway, here I am now. Four months later… but still, I'm here! Anyhow, this is a shortie (sorry, sorry, sorry!!), but I figured it was better 'n nothing.

Anyhoo, here I introduce yet another new character (yay!). muahahaha*evil laugh* this guy I'm gonna have some major fun w/. and if u can guess who he is, u get some major brownie points as well as a teaser via mail *wink*. Anyways, I swear that I'll write faster, the next chapter'll probably be out in a few weeks, so keep ur eyes open! That's all for now.

-w.r


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